Sridevi in a Throwback Interview: As a Parent, It Would Give Me Greater Joy to See Janhvi Married

Sridevi may be gone, but her legacy of love and warmth lives on. She was widely known and loved for her otherworldly acting skills, innate comic timing, and graceful dancing skills. Having worked in a male-dominated industry for over four decades, Sridevi stood tall entirely on her merit and proved women can more than excel. And, the commercial and critical success of her last release Mom, which also marked her 300th film outing, showed why she was still so relevant and valued.

Clearly, her daughter followed in her famous footsteps into the profession. Janhvi Kapoor, who recently made her acting debut with Dhadak, has been receiving appreciation for her exquisite on-screen presence from all over. And it was only a week ago that Sridevi’s producer-husband Boney Kapoor revealed their younger daughter Khushi, too, would like to get her feet wet in the acting realm.

In an interview to Mid-day last year, Sridevi had, however, admitted that she didn't want her eldest daughter to enter the showbiz and wasn’t too keen when Karan Johar's Student of The Year was offered to her.

The late actress had also talked at length about how her intentions were often misunderstood when Janhvi and Khushi would accompany her to film screenings and get-togethers.

“Earlier, I would take them to social gatherings and premieres that I attended. But they (people) thought I was promoting Jhanvi. Walking with my girls made me feel like a proud mother. But to the world, it became a reason to misunderstand me," she had said, adding she didn't encourage Janhvi much when SOTY 2 came her way.

"She wanted to do the film and initially, I wasn't in favour. I don't think it's a bad industry. I am a creation of this world. But, as a parent, it would give me greater joy to see her married. But her happiness matters more, and if she does well as an actress, I will be a proud mother.”

But Sridevi’s comments hadn’t gone down too well with many who criticised the actress for her “regressive” statement about her daughter’s career.

She had later clarified in a Twitter post that her comment was “misconstrued”. The veteran star cleared her stance, saying, she’s never believed that marriage is the end goal of a young woman's life.

“My comment was misunderstood and it really concerns me that it’s sounding like I believe girls are only meant to get married and settle down. That’s not what I want for my daughters, I want them to be able to stand on their own feet and have their own identity. I’ve always told them never to be dependant on anyone in any capacity. It’s very important to me that young girls understand that the end goal of their life is not to get married and have babies, they have every right to make something of themselves if they wish to. What I meant to say initially was that I would prefer if my daughters didn’t lead the kind of hectic life that comes with this business and instead have a relatively stable and relaxed life. But they are ambitious and I have come to respect that like every parent should, and that respect overshadows my parental instincts now,” read the post shared by Sridevi on her official Twitter account.

In another interview with Mumbai Mirror in 2012, Sridevi had said that she was terrified by the rumours of Janhvi entering the film industry because she wanted her daughter to get married when her studies gets completed.

"I am perturbed by the rumors about her getting ready for films. She hasn't even decided what she wants to do in life. Right now, I want her to concentrate on studies. When she completes her studies, ideally I would like her to get married and settle down,” she had said.

Sridevi passed away due to accidental downing in the tub of a hotel bathroom in Dubai on February 24.