Mridula Tripathiwife of actor Pankaj Tripathiopened up about her journey from being a teacher to managing her husband’s flourishing career. Mridula, who had no prior industry experience, admitted that Pankaj had more faith in her abilities than she did, especially during the initial stages when her lack of experience led to him losing a few projects at a crucial point in his career.
Reflecting on the transition, Mridula shared in a recent episode of Conversations with Atul that she initially struggled with the role, which included handling meetings, reading scripts, and negotiating fees. “No one can handle him better than me,” she remarked, attributing her understanding of Pankaj’s personality and temperament as a key asset in her role as his manager. She added, “Earlier, he was being managed by an agency, but a few things happened, and he left them. He was the one who persuaded me to take on this role of a manager. I had no knowledge about this because I was a teacher. I had no relation with the industry, I had no idea who is a producer, who is a presenter. All of this was new for me!”
Recalling her early hesitations, Mridula noted that her unfamiliarity with the industry led her to warn Pankaj that he might lose projects. “I told him that he might lose a few projects in this process because I am not good at it,” she said, adding that her discomfort with negotiations caused setbacks and he did lose two-three projects at a time when it was important for him to get offers to earn money. “I felt things were going wrong because of me, but he clearly told me, ‘Ek-do baar gadbad hoga, phir theek ho jayega (you’ll goof up a few times, then it will be alright).’”
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Over time, she found her footing and now manages him confidently. Aware of her dual role, she humorously shared how she often has to clarify her stance during negotiations, asking, “Are you talking to the wife or the manager?” Acknowledging the challenges of her role, she reflected, “it was a tough thing to do initially and I realised when someone pointed out how I was doing such a noble work of teaching, cut to here, where I had to discuss money, be cruel whenever needed, it is very difficult, but I did it.”
Mridula concluded with a playful remark about her omnipresence in Pankaj’s life, joking, “I sometimes threaten him that I will quit being his manager, and he often jokes that he’s one man who can’t get angry either at home or work, because the wife is everywhere!”