Celebrity mother-daughters may be commonplace in Bollywood but one seldom gets to see these real-life jodis on TV. But wherever they have shared the platform, these maa-betis have set the show on fire. Tarana and her mother work in Bade Acche lagte Hain while Bhavana Balsavar and her mom Madhu feature in Gutar Gu. Sangeeta Yadav spoke with these duos to bring you a special story
Friends forever
Acting, dancing, RJing and hosting comes naturally to Tarana Raja, aka Neha Shergil in Bade Achhe lagte Hain. After all, her mother Madhu is a renowned actor in her own right, popular in the theatre circuit. However, when Tarana got to work with her in BAlH (Madhu plays Ram Kapoor’s mother), it was icing on the cake. Though the two share few scenes, the thrill of being in it together makes Tarana go ga ga. “I was always a performer. I started dancing as a baby, thanks to my mom. I did my first stage show and first movie (Khuda Hafiz) at age 3. Seeing my zen for glamour, my mom made my portfolio for modeling. But I got noticed by TV producers and roles poured in,” Tarana tells you.
Madhu, couldn’t have asked for a better daughter. “Through Tarana, I relived my childhood. When children grow up, a mother should play a supporting role and not interfere in their affairs,” Madhu recalls.
The duo recently shot for a special Mothers’ Day show to be telecast on DD today and the experience, both said, was mindboggling. “I respect my mother so much that I feel nervous sharing screen space with her. She is an established actor. On DD’s Perna Puraskar, a show where mother achievers are honoured, I got to discover her emotional side as well,” Tarana tells you. Madhu had no intention of joining BAlH. “When I dropped by the sets to meet Tarana, the casting crew thought I would do well as Ram’s mother. It has been exhilarating to work with Tarana. We have the same temperament. We are friends who give each other space. When we travel, we stay in different rooms and have different make-up vans too,” Madhu says.
But, when Tarana needs advice, she goes to her mother. “Once, I had to play a drunkard. I asked my mother for help. She said, ‘I’m the queen of drunken scenes’. She taught me how to get that slur in my voice,” Tarana says.
‘Mom is more of a child’
She gave us laughter riots in Dekh Bhai Dekh, Zabaan Sambhal Ke and now in Gutar Gu 2 on SabTV. But veteran actress Shubha Khote’s darling daughter Bhavana Balsavar never wanted to be an actress. A pet lover, she wanted to be a veterinarian. But she got pushed into acting. Today, the seasoned actress is thankful that she took this career choice.
“It was the premiere of Bharat Dabholkar’s play Bottoms Up in which my mother was the lead. On the opening day, a crew fell sick requiring a replacement. I decided to help out. My mother briefed me about the role. The applause I got from was amazing. Right then, I decided I wanted to be an actress” Bhavana says. The mother-daughter duo has since given shows like Zaban Sambhal Ke and Gutar Gu.
Khote, riding high on a Bollywood career in the 60s, is still going strong at age 70. She says her “high moment” was when Bhavana got an award for Dekh Bhai Dekh, Bhavana. Talking about her mother, Balsavar says: “I had a very strange relationship with her. Whenever we travelled, I had to act like her mother and she like my child. She would be naughty and do embarrassing things. At times I had to tell her enough was enough,” Bhavana recalls.
But what makes her look up to her motherIJ “Three years ago, we were doing a play in Nasik. My mother fell from a parapet. Next day, we had to go to Shirdi. She was badly injured. But, even in that situation, she went to Shridi. I can’t forget that day. Even now, she directs plays, I do the scripting for our production house Shubhangi Kalamandir,” Bhavana concludes.
‘Working together is quite a party’
Actor, singer, dancer, stylist — Anita Kanwal is quite a multitasker. Being a single mother and bringing up Pooja and Shivana was a tough task but Anita enjoyed every bit. “Motherhood has been the most blessed experience of my life. With my daughters, and now with my grandchildren, I’m reliving the joys of motherhood. Pooja is well established now and Shivana is a stylist with CNBC. I remember those days when Pooja was doing a South Indian film and I didn’t take any work for two years because I had to accompany her. Motherhood is about sacrifice,” she says.
Pooja feels she spends very little time with her mother, her guiding angel. “My mom spotted my talent and nurtured me. I’ve was a child theatre actor. It was a learning experience with her,” Pooja says. For Anita, moving to Mumbai was a tough decision but it opened avenues for Pooja. “When I came to Mumbai, I had to start from scratch. I was doing 13 serials and also managing household chores and children. When Pooja got her first Bollywood movie Uuf Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai (2004) by Rajshri Productions I was very happy,” Kanwal tells you. When the opportunity to work together in Sasural Genda Phool popped up, the duo took it up without hesitation. For Anita, it meant spending 20 days with her daughter. “After Pooja’s marriage, we hardly met. But when we started working on the same show, we had a blast. The sets became Pooja’s maiyka,” Kanwal, you is to do another serial with Pooja on like OK soon, says.