As a child grows, so does the mother-child equation. Ask actor Lara Dutta Bhupathi, whose daughter recently turned 10, what their relationship is like, and she says, “Would I want to be a friend to my daughter? Yes! But I don’t want to be the parent who says, ‘My daughter and I are best friends’.”

Bhupathi emphasises the importance of walking the fine line between both roles. She explains, “I think it’s essential to have a relationship where you can be open and discuss everything with a mother figure, but I don’t want to confuse her because I can’t oscillate between being a mother and best friend.”

The 43-year-old, who is married to former tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, had to clarify a few months ago that she is not on any dating apps after her fake dating profile went viral. She quips that she’s glad she didn’t have to “navigate the dating field” back in the day.

The actor says, “I’m still a little old-school as I think you need to go on at least three dates before deciding whether you want to get into a relationship with someone. Today, it’s like a revolving door. You just can’t keep up (laughs).” 

So, how would she react if Saira signed up for a dating app in the future? The BellBottom (2021) actor shares, “You’ve got to move ahead with time.” But quickly adds that it also has a flip side: “It’s just that I’ve an issue with the majority of the intentions behind those meet-ups.”