Pankaj Tripathi felt daughter Aashi is 'sharper' than him on watching her debut: 'What she did in 2 shows took me years'

Pankaj Tripathi's daughter, Aashi, made her stage debut with the play Lailaaj last month in Mumbai.

Published on: Dec 3, 2025, 06:07:10 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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Pankaj Tripathi has another actor in the family. His daughter, Aashi, recently made her stage debut with the play, Lailaaj, last month. In a candid chat with HT, the veteran actor opened up about seeing his daughter on stage and how he feels about her taking on acting as a career.

Pankaj Tripathi's daughter Aashi has made her acting debut on stage.

Pankaj Tripathi on daughter Aashi’s acting debut

Lailaaj has been produced by Pankaj and Mridula Tripathi’s banner, Roopkatha Rangmanch, as their first play. The first shows were staged in November in Mumbai and received acclaim. Pankaj said on the sidelines that he watched the performances ‘as an actor, and not as a father’. When asked how Aashi took the feedback, he tells us, “She took it very well. By the third show, I saw her improvement, I felt she was sharper than me. When our teachers used to explain all us these things, it would take us one or two years to adopt that. She achieved that miracle in just three shows. This new generation is very sharp, very advanced. But the problems they face are also sharper and very advanced.”

Although Pankaj says Aashi has not decided if she wants to pursue acting as a career, he is fully supportive of the choice if she does. He says, “I will let her find her way. I know the difficulties that lie on this path. Either I can scare her now, or I can give her the freedom to do her thing her way. Not just my daughter, I think this freedom should be given to all kids. Tell them to do what they want, and even if they fail, it’s no big deal.”

Pankaj Tripathi’s upcoming films

Pankaj Tripathi was last seen on the big screen in Anurag Basu’s romantic drama Metro…In Dino opposite Konkona Sen Sharma. He is currently filming two projects - Mirzapur film and Parivarak Manuranjan opposite Aditi Rao Hydari. Both are expected to release in 2026.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

Pankaj Tripathi

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