Tripathi has always spoken about the level of love and respect he has for his better half. And also about how she’s supported him through everything. Obviously, both of them know a thing or two about what goes into making a marriage successful. So, we thought of compiling a list of all the times the actor has spoken about his wife in the best ways possible. Let’s take a look. 

1. When he thanked his wife for supporting him during the days he was a struggling actor. 

He has admitted (on more than one occasion) how his wife was working for their financial stability in the days he was still trying to find better acting gigs. Also, Mridula has spoken about how while she was working to build that financial stability, Pankaj Tripathi was at home cooking and sharing the responsibilities with her. Clearly, this is a marriage between two equals. 

My wife Mridula and I survived on her income in Mumbai. She was a qualified school teacher and she got a job in Mumbai while I did what all out-of-town actors in Mumbai do… Struggle. My first major role was in Dharm in 2007 where I got to work with my namesake, the great Pankaj Kapur.

-Pankaj Tripathi for She The People

2. When Pankaj Tripathi acknowledged that his wife saw him and loved him for who he is even before the audience did. 

Because don’t we all want someone who will see us for who we are and not what we do, what our potential is or even for our talents? And Mridula has also spoken about believing in their relationship and love without thinking too much about it. It was about the love they shared, and nothing more. It seems like she’s been his biggest cheerleader, and in fact, he’s been hers too. 

Ye mujhe tab pyaar ki thi jab koi audience mujhe pyaar nahi karti thi. Haan, toh ye bachpan ka pyaar hai, aur ye janta aur cinema ka pyaar alag hai. 

-Pankaj Tripathi for Lehreh TV

3. The time he talked about how the couple would read their favourite Hindi love letter together. 

What else can anyone even ask for? The couple connects the most over literature and that too, love letters! Not to say there is a wrong way of falling in love or connecting with someone, but this just sounds so old school and romantic. Is this what finding your soulmate feels like?

Hum Phanishwar Renu Nath ki kahaniyaan padhte the saath mein, Raag Darbari novel hai Shrilal Shukla ka, usme ek prem patra hai. I think 208 number page par hai, mujhe abhi page bhi yaad hai. Toh woh hum dono padh ke haste the.  

-Pankaj Tripathi for She The People

4. Then when he spoke about the moment he decided he’ll marry her (which by the way, was the very same moment he saw her for the first time). 

Kahin par gaye the tilak chadhane, main hi tha, meri behen ki shaadi thi. Aur dekh liya tha chhat ki balcony par. Fir woh utarte hui aayi, aangan cross kar rahi thi, aur aise lagaa ki hiran ki tarah kulhaanche bhari, mudh ke dekha aur chali gayi. Ab toh baaki ka jeevan inhi ke sang. Achaanak! Shukravaar ki raat, 8:30 baje tey kiya tha ki baaki ka zindagi is ladki ke naam.

5. The time Amitabh Bachchan asked him if he ever wrote love letters to his wife.

Apparently, Pankaj Tripathi wrote a letter once and the only subtle way in which conveyed his love was by how he ended the letter! 

Ek bohot sanketik prem patra likha tha. Sab upar normal tha, ki ghar, parivaar ki logo ko, badho ko pranaam, woh achche honge, main achcha hoon, main kushalta poorvak hoon. Last mein tha sirf, ‘badho ko pranaam, aur chhote ko pyaar.’ Mujhe pata hai ki chhoti padhegi toh samajh jaaegi ki chitthi ka maqsad sirf chhoti ko pyaar hai, aur kuchh nahi hai.  

-Pankaj Tripathi on KBC

6. And also the way he asked her to marry him was beyond cute!

It’s probably because they met at such a young age. But the way he talked to her about getting married was so straightforward and pure! There were no mind games, no back and forth between the two, just a question and a solid, but simple plan behind it. 

Dil dene ke pehle hum poochhte the ki, ‘Vivaah karogi kya?’ Bolti thi ‘kyun?’ Hum bole ki uske baad main pyaar karunga. 

-Pankaj Tripathi for KBC

And that’s on how to win a woman’s heart and keep it too!