Divya Kaushik (BOMBAY TIMES; December 23, 2017)

Kajol might not be very active on social media, but when she was in Delhi recently at one of the sessions at the CII Big Picture Summit, she spoke about why she felt that some amount of self-censorship was necessary on social media. “As stars, you have to accept the pros and cons of power. What you say might be inferred in different ways by different people. I do believe in self-censorship, there are views that I would probably not want to put out on social media, not because I don’t want to stand up for it, but because I don’t have the right words to make it sound politically correct. Every star has to measure their words and tweets. We do have freedom of expression, but it has to be put out in the most acceptable way,” she said.

‘WHEN A DOCTOR OR A BUSINESSMAN’S CHILD TAKES UP THE SAME PROFESSION AS HIS/HER PARENTS, NO ONE CRIES OVER NEPOTISM’
Kajol, who is the daughter of actress Tanuja and late filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee, was asked about nepotism in the industry. She said, “I know a dentist whose parents are also dentists, likewise, we all know of someone from a business family who decides to take charge of his/her family business. I don’t see anybody crying over nepotism there. People who succeed do not succeed because they are favoured, they succeed because of their hard work and talent. In our film industry, favouring someone doesn’t work — the ratio of failure is higher than the success ratio.”

‘THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO BE IN THE INDUSTRY’
The actress, who was last seen in Dilwale, said that she is fortunate to be a part of this changing phase of cinema where content is rated over else. “It is a fantastic time for actors to be in the film industry, because we are in a time when it doesn’t matter what you look like — where originality is preferred over fitting in a mould. I think that the mad passion to make films that one believes in still exists in Bollywood. I am happy to see that finally that mad passion is economically feasible as well because of the way cinema and audiences have changed, you actually have the ability to make films which are people’s thought put out there and not necessarily a clichéd formula. There are films being made on interesting subjects. I also feel that films reflect society, and as far as influencing someone is concerned, I don’t think that one film can change a person’s opinion or thinking,” she said.

Citing Vidya Balan’s latest release Tumhari Sulu, Kajol added, “Although heroines were always an important part of films, it is only now that there are films being made around women. If you speak to the biggest directors, they will tell you that they need a strong female character in their films and that makes their films stand out.”

‘IT TAKES COURAGE TO SPEAK UP AGAINST HARASSMENT’
When asked about the working condition for women in the industry and how relevant was something like a #MeToo campaign that started from Hollywood to bring to light stories of harassment faced by women, Kajol said, “What’s surprising to me is that it took so long for these stories to come to light. It definitely happens everywhere, but hasn’t happened to me. It takes a lot of courage to come out and speak up, especially when you are successful. Hats off to all those who have spoken up against harassment.”

IT’S ALL IN THE FAMILY
Kajol is often called a strict mother by people who know her, but she says that it was her mother who was actually very strict, she was also the coolest. “I was 17 when I went for Bekhudi outdoors for 40 days with a whole unit of people. I don’t know if I’ll have the guts to send my 17-year-old daughter with people I hardly know. My mom was immensely brave to let me go — she was cool, but super strict. I am a very strict mother and I truly believe that children do need boundaries to grow up to be tall and better human beings, they need to be shown what is right or wrong,” she said, adding that she also believes that today, she is a better actress because of her children. “My kids have told me that I should do more films like Golmaal, they tell me ‘you should do more films like papa.’ They don’t want to see me cry. They don’t like any of my films because I am crying in them,” she said.
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Without mentioning Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati or directly referring to the controversies that surround the release of the film, Kajol spoke about the death threats to Deepika Padukone. She said, “I don’t think it is okay for anybody to stand up on stage and threaten anybody openly, it’s very stupid. The fact that it is done so openly is a cause for concern. I think we need to focus on people for a change. As a society, we need to up our level of being able to understand and soften our viewpoint.”