‘YOU CANNOT FAIL AT PARENTING’
You could fail at being an actor or being married, but not at being a parent, feels Kajol
Kajol has been in the industry for more than two decades, and has proved her mettle as a stellar actor. The actor whose last Bollywood film was Dilwale (2015), is now back with Pradeep Sarkar’s Helicopter Eela, in which she portrays a mother to National Award-winning actor Riddhi Sen. She confesses that she has learned to handle the pressure of being an actor, but she is still learning to handle the pressure of being a mother to Yug (8) and Nysa (15).
How was it to play a mother onscreen when you are a mother to two kids in real life?
It was partially coincidental but I definitely resonated with Eela because I am a mother. I loved the script and I identified with the little thoughts between a mother and her child. Somewhere down the line, she is just one of those people you really relate to. You will either see yourself or your mother in her. I immediately saw myself.
Do your kids give you a lot of feedback on the kind of work you are doing?
Yug is too young. Nysa is not very vocal about my work but she is very proud of me and all that I have achieved. She also realises that us (Kajol and husband, actor Ajay Devgn) being actors will be a factor when she eventually goes to work because she will always be known by us and that’s the first impression most people will have of her. She is a bit intimidated by that aspect but I take heart from the fact that I am somebody that she can be proud of.
As of now, she is aspiring to get good grades in 10th standard. That’s her only aspiration, goal and main aim in life.
How do you view your acting career visàvis being a parent? Parenting is the toughest job in the world. Acting is a breeze, it’s almost like a holiday from parenting. Especially when I go on set, I feel like I am having fun and chilling, and there is no stress. But parenting is something that I have to worry about. I have to keep a tab on what I say and how I say it. There are a hundred different things you are worrying about, and all of them matter. You cannot fail at parenting. You can fail at a lot of other things including your career and your marriage, but if you fail as a parent, it will hit you so hard that most people can’t even handle it and even go into denial and not accept responsibility for it.
But, do you think parenting is a twoway street?
I definitely think it is. Just being pregnant cannot make you a parent. It’s when you sit with them 24/7, when you haven’t slept for six months and when they’re puking all over your best dress, that’s parenting. Even when you’re fighting, you know you’re loved and that’s parenting... so it’s a lifelong learning process. My kids have taught me so much and they continue to teach me so many things.