Actor Pankaj Tripathi’s father Pandit Banaras Tiwari passed away due to age-related issues on Monday, August 21. He was 99. According to reports, Pankaj had been shooting for an upcoming film in Uttarakhand when he received the news of his father's demise. The popular Bollywood actor's team issued a statement informing that he is en route to his village in Gopalganj, Bihar, to perform the last rites. The statement read, "It’s with a heavy heart to confirm that Pankaj Tripathi’s father, Pandit Banaras Tiwari is no more. He lived a wholesome life of 99 years. His last rites will be performed today amongst his close family. Pankaj Tripathi is currently on his way to his village in Gopalganj."
Pankaj's father was living with his mother, while the actor was residing in Mumbai with his wife and daughter. Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar, who worked with the Pankaj in the recently-released OMG 2, was one of the first celebrities to pay their tributes and offered his support to the actor on X. He posted, "I'm deeply saddened by the news of the demise of my friend and co-star @TripathiiPankaj's father. No one can fulfill the absence of parents. May God give place to his father's soul at his feet. Om Shanti." (sic)
मेरे मित्र और सह कलाकार @TripathiiPankaj के पिताजी के देहांत के समाचार से बहुत दुःख हुआ। माँ बाप की कमी कोई पूरी नहीं कर सकता। प्रभु उनके पिताजी की आत्मा को अपने चरणों में जगह दें।ॐ शांति 🙏
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) August 21, 2023
Recently, in an interview, Pankaj Tripathi shared how his father had never watched his films and had very little knowledge about his work and profession. Known best among Tamil cinema audiences for playing the role of a police officer in 'Superstar' Rajinikanth's Kaala (2018), the actor garnered popularity after starring in films like Mani Ratnam's Raavan (2010), Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Salman Khan's Dabangg 2 (2012), Fukrey (2013), Ajay Devgn's Singham Returns (2013), Newton (2017), Stree (2018), Mimi (2021), 83 (2021), and more recently OMG 2. Pankaj also won a special mention at the 65th National Film Awards for his performance in Newton and was announced sometime back to be starring in Main Atal Hoon, an upcoming biopic based on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
