PRAKRITI ROY catches up with celeb mom and daughters to find out more about the bonds they share
Each time Mother’s Day comes around, it is imperative that everyone starts treating their mothers extra special. There are plans made, gift bought and even surprises planned, all to make sure that your mothers can feel like queens at least on one day of the year.
For celebrities, it is all the more important to have their mothers around, as they are in constant limelight, either for success or failure. And in a situation like that, the presence of your mother by your side can do wonders for your confidence.
Actress Tanishaa Mukerji certainly agrees. Coming from a filmy background and having the famous actress Tanuja as her mother, there was a lot that Tanishaa could learn. However, she says, “My mom definitely supported me throughout but she always let me make my decisions. In the film industry, there are no rules, so there wasn’t much that she could really teach me about that in particular.”
Tanishaa’s stint on Bigg Boss was full of controversies and scandals. But, she says that what got her through was her mother. “Inside the house, I was so glad that my mother had brought me up the way she did so that I could actually survive. And when I came out, I was so glad to see her as I knew that no matter what, she would be there for me,” she recalls. This year, the mother-daughter plan to spend Mother’s Day gardening in their lonawala home.
For singer Sophie Choudry, her mother Yasmin Choudry is more than just her mother. She is also her manager. Sophie tells you that in her initial days when her girl band wanted to come to India from london to shoot their videos, they didn’t have a manager as they couldn’t afford one. Since then, Yasmin has been by her daughter’s side every step of the way.
“When I decided to move to India for at least a year to try my hand in this industry, my mom gave up her pharmaceutical business to her partners and accompanied me. Everyone in the industry knows her now and because of her, no one tries to mess with me,” Sophie tells you. She has not made any specific plans for Mother’s Day as they already spend most of their time together. “My mom is one of the coolest people I’ve met. She actually learnt how to operate the DJ deck which neither I nor my team know. So sometimes we sing to her ‘DJ wale mumma mera gaana baja do’!” she adds.
For some of the Bollywood actresses, motherhood came after they found immense stardom. And in India, marriage and motherhood often mean giving up a lucrative career. Juhi Chawla feels that every day is Mother’s Day as mothers are always on duty and worrying about their children. “Once you have a baby, your life changes completely. Earlier, everything was about me. Now nothing is about me!” she says.
Juhi’s children now top her list of priorities. If she ever had to travel for work, she always had to make sure that there was someone to take her of them. After losing her own mother some 18 years back, Juhi found motherly support from her mother-in-law who was extremely supportive of her work.
“When I was entering the industry, I was so young and carefree and I didn’t really give a thought to what my mother felt. She told me once how she gets worried when I perform on stage or something and that’s when it struck me that mothers worry. In retrospect, I can’t thank her enough for supporting me,” she adds. For Mother’s Day this year, Juhi tells you that her children, who are growing older now, haven’t planned anything. “When they were little, they used to make me cards. Now, they treat me like they’re my age and they tend to tune out a little. But I love them and they love me and that’s all that’s important,” she says.
Another Bollywood mom who has returned to work full time despite motherhood is lara Dutta. And she is not complaining one bit. In fact, she says that she is greatly enjoying motherhood. “Saira is a wonderful, happy, sorted child. Now she is with us all the time, she travels with us wherever we go, allowing Mahesh and me to do what we love doing. But it is hard work, and as a mother you need to balance out a lot of things. Now that she getting older, she understands that both her parents have demanding careers,” she says.
Seeing your mother on the screen can be a bit weird for a small child and so it was for Saira too. “She had no idea what her mother did for a day job when she was small. Now she kind of knows — she was with me while shooting Singh is Bling and she saw the film too. She understands the process now. But it doesn’t really matter to her what I am off doing on screen. At home, I am still her mum,” lara tells you.