Giving a thumbs down to the culture of paparazzi hounding star kids, Kajol says media pressure on children unwarranted
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; August 16, 2018)

Bollywood's brightest bask in the unchecked attention that their status as celebrities affords them But, it is not quite the same when they turn parent and find the same cameras trained on their children instead. In an industry that's divided on its stance on the attention given by the paparazzi to star kids, Kajol bats for restoring "normalcy" in children's lives.

Mother to kids Nysa and Yug, the Helicoptor Eela actor confesses to mid-day that the tendency to rob kids of a regular upbringing perturbs her. "We all want the best for our kids, [which is a life] without the pressure of [dealing with] the media at that age. They have other issues to deal with."

Like her contemporaries have in the past, she asserts that it is a star, and not his/her child, that agrees for a life before the cameras. "We, as celebrities, signed up for this profession. They are just born into it and shouldn't be hounded. Our children are too young to understand that the reason they have cameras around is because their parents are stars," she says, adding that she had picked up a discussion about the culture with her kids early on.

"Now, we, as a family, know how to react to these situations." Set to play a mother in Pradeep Sarkar's directorial venture, Kajol says the line between her on and off screen avatars as a mother, are thin. "I am similar to the character I play in the film, so, working on it was an instinctive and intellectual choice."


Kajol and Ajay Devgn with kids, Nysa and Yug. Pic/Instagram