Encourage kids to be their own decision makers: Pankaj Tripathi

Pankaj Tripathi wants parents to instill confidence in their children to be their own decision makers and be far more responsible

Centuries of conditioning and gender blocks can be defeated only if we consciously create a neutral environment at home. Be it for your son or daughter, I often tell parents to allow their children to be independent,” says actor Pankaj Tripathi, who is known for his sensitive and subtle performances including films such as Nil Battey Sannata (2016), Bareilly Ki Barfi (2017) and the recent, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl.

Pankaj Tripathi played the role of a supportive father in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl

The actors admits that he always learns from roles he essays. After playing a father, who becomes the driving force of his daughter’s life in Gunjan Saxena and mirroring the same by supporting the dreams of his own daughter, Pankaj Tripathi says in patriarchal societies like ours it’s upon the parents to create a gender neutral environment at home.

Even as his film tackles sexism in the 90s, Tripathi concedes that the challenges posed to women and their passions continue. There are demarcated roles assigned to women, even today and shares that it’s only parents who could ensure that their children feel assured enough to take their own decisions.

Tripathi explains, “Kids should take charge of their lives and even as we, the parents, are available to guide them at every step, we shouldn’t overshadow their life with the baggage of our lived experiences and opinions. If we instill the confidence in children to be their own decision makers, they’ll be far more responsible. Mistakes are the biggest learning lessons and it always helps people grow individually. As a parent, I tell my daughter that my wife and I are with her but eventually it’s her life and she has to become her own person. Our guidance and support is always there but the choices have to be hers, the victories are hers and the mistakes are hers too.”