Pankaj Tripathi shared this image. (Courtesy: PankajTripathi)
The 69th National Film Awards was extra special for Laxman Utekar's Mimi. While Kriti Sanon won in the Best Actress category along with Alia Bhatt, Pankaj Tripathi won the Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the 2021 film. Pankaj Tripathi, who received his first National Award for 2017's Newton, on Saturday shared a few pictures from the prestigious event. The first click shows the actor receiving his award from President Droupadi Murmu. We also saw his wife Mridula Tripathi and daughter Aashi Tripathi sitting next to the actor. The set of pictures concluded with a perfect family selfie. For the caption, Pankaj Tripathi borrowed lines from poet Ramdarash Mishra and wrote in Hindi, “‘Banaya hai maine yeh ghar dheere dheere. Khule mere khwabon ke par dheere dheere. Kisi ko giraya na khud ko uchhaala, kata zindagi ka safar dheere dheere. Jahaan aap pahunche chalaange lagakar, wahan main bhi aya magar dheere dheere.' Gratitude to all of you.”
On his big win, Pankaj Tripathi told news agency PTI, “I am happy and humbled. I feel anything is possible if you persevere and do your work with honesty. I completed 20 years in Mumbai yesterday. This is my second honour at the National Awards. I'm grateful to all the viewers, all my directors, Laxman Utekar (director of 'Mimi'), and the jury for choosing me.”
The actor also expressed his gratitude towards his fans and said, “To the audience members who have given me so much love. At the awards ceremony, people came up to me and said my win feels like a personal achievement to them. It feels great since I have also come from the masses.” Earlier, the actor dedicated this award to his late father, who passed away in August.
When the National Awards were announced, Kriti Sanon congratulated her Mimi co-star Pankaj Tripathi with a special post on her Instagram stories. Kriti dropped a BTS picture from the sets of Mimi. In the click, the two actors were seen flashing their million-dollar smile. Kriti wrote, “Congratulations to my favourite Pankaj Tripathi Sir! Your father would be so proud.”
Apart from Kriti Sanon and Pankaj Tripathi, Mimi also features Supriya Pathak and Jaya Bhattacharya in prominent roles.