How would you describe your 2021 in one word?
For me personally, motherhood.
A movie / show you are looking forward to in 2022?
Anubhav Sinha ‘The crowd‘
You celebrated the New Year for the first time with your husband and son. How was it
Should be like! Family time is precious. Bringing a New Year with our daughter and baby was wonderful.
You are collaborating with Anubhav Sinha Once again after the ‘crowd’Buffet‘How was your experience working with him?
I take great care and respect the cinema of experience. After being directed by him in a music video 20 years ago, working with him in some of his previous films ‘Thappad’ and now in our collaboration on ‘Crowd’, it has been a long and interesting journey. ‘Crowd’ is an important film, and very difficult to make. But the experience makes the experience very enjoyable, instinctive and personal. I love the whole team working with him. It was great to be back on the movie set with him!
Having been in the film industry for two decades and being a celebrity, are you now accustomed to the public eye and the fact that you should be open to different degrees and scrutiny?
One has to admit that with the love and generosity of our audience comes a test of different levels. Over the years I have also discovered that people treat us the way we treat ourselves in the public domain.
Your New Year’s post hints at some of the experiences that really made us happy. We all know about your marriage and motherhood, but what happened to the experience of near death?
I had to go for an appendectomy in my fifth month Pregnancy. When I was in the sixth month of pregnancy, I would go to the hospital later because of a severe bacterial infection that could cause sepsis. My baby had to be delivered because my placenta started to hemorrhage. It was a difficult time and I am grateful to my gynecologist who saved our lives.
How different is it to be a mother during an epidemic?
Bringing a child into a world of crisis has a profound effect on all of our choices. I hope that someday we will no longer need to wear masks and our children can become normal in their lives. Our daughter is studying online and she is struggling. Our son is too young to know the difference. But when we are at home, we value the time we have with us and we do our best to make this time attractive, happy and safe for our children.
You have always raised your voice about your thoughts and opinions, do you think that being transparent and not being a diplomat has affected your career in any way?
Sure it is! It now only attracts those whom I truly respect in my life and I want to work with them. That’s the best way forward.
Many people have lost a lot during this epidemic. Some have lost family and friends, while others have lost careers, time and money. What lessons did you learn during these turbulent times, and what will you see five years from now?
The whole of humanity has been shaken for the last two years. Inequalities have widened, the cracks in our society have deepened. But at the same time, many good people are working to help those in need. The lesson that Kovid-19 has taught me is that nothing is needed but to restore the natural balance and improve our relationship with the natural world. And nothing is more important than health. The most important lesson is that all human health is connected with the health of the planet.
I hope we can look back on this five years from now because the world has chosen to heal. A time when sustainability has become a priority and a major shift in all of our choices is leading the way to recovery for people and the planet.