Aishwarya Sakhuja is a bright and talented actress who has her own definition of celebrating the lives of every woman around her. On the occasion of Women’s Day, Aishwarya who is presently seen in Yeh Hai Chahatein, gets talking.
Says Aishwarya, “We don’t need one day to celebrate the gender. There is no day called Men’s Day. So I really do not understand this concept of celebrating this day. If we are celebrating a day for this gender, it means that there is inequality in this society. So I honestly do not find any significance to this one particular day.”
Having said that, Aishwarya will be eager to be reborn as a woman. “It gives me immense power to know that I would be able to create another life inside me. To have that ability, that power, I will want to be reborn as a woman.”
“Women who have inspired me have ranged from my mother to my grandmother, and even to the younger generation. My mother and grandmother have played a pivotal role in shaping up my life. They were great homemakers. My mother was somebody who studied in a Government School. But after getting married, she did her B.Ed and became an English teacher. That’s a great achievement. She set an example in my family. Talking about my grandmother, the way she took care of all of us with so much patience was so overwhelming.”
Aishwarya accepts that we live in a man-dominated society. “The conditioning is so deep in us that even now if in a married couple, the son makes a mistake, the wife is held accountable. There can be a change when the mothers start to teach their sons on how the women have been wronged. When the teachings given to women are also given to men, things will change. I really hope it can be changed one day.”
Aishwarya wants to better her life as a woman. “I want to create the right balance between my work and personal life. I want to be a good mother if I have kids. I want to give the right values to my kids and make them understand that this planet is shared by everybody. I would want to influence the younger generation to be empathetic towards all living things, including the animals, insects, flora etc.”
To sum it up, Aishwarya says, “Have the faith in yourself. Don’t let social norms break down your morals. I will give you an example – few people in my family were very ashamed that I was a model. I would get calls from my cousins that whatever I was doing was bringing down the family image. But I did not listen to them; I had the strong support of my parents. Don’t let anybody bog you down. You are blessed to be born as a woman. Let us be grateful for our lives.”