Kajol: I’ve never paid heed to Log kya kahenge mentality

Kajol is not only a versatile actor but also an influential icon with her thoughts touching people, especially women. In a career spanning over three decades, she has always come across as a headstrong individual who lives her life the way she wants to. In an interview with ANI, the DDLJ star spoke about how her maternal lineage helped her become a strong person. Also read: Kajol reveals she was once chased by paparazzi on a bike but couldn’t complaint

“I have never paid heed to ‘log kya kahenge (what will people think)’ in my life. I was raised by a wonderful mother. I was raised by a mother who did not give two hoots about society. Actually, I had a wonderful maternal lineage. From my great-grandmother to my grandmother and my mother, every one of them has always behaved and taught me by example that nobody else matters, your life is your responsibility and nobody else’s opinion matters on that,” Kajol said.

Kajol does not believe in giving someone else the steering wheel of life. “Firstly, take responsibility for your life…your actions are your own not dictated by society. Secondly, at the end of the day, society will have to accept what you make out of your life and that’s how my great-grandmother and grandmother lived their lives. Both of them had amazingly different opinions on life and the world. My mother literally lives her life till today. I am trying to live my life like them,” she added.

Kajol was born to legendary actor Tanuja and late director Shomu Mukherjee on August 5, 1974. Tanuja’s mother Shobhana Samarth was also an actor and her father was producer Kumarsen Samarth.

Kajol in 2020 dropped a beautiful collage on social media, throwing light on her family lineage. The collage features the actor, her mother Tanuja, late maternal grandmother Shobhna Samarth and late aunt Nutan, all of whom have had an illustrious career in Indian cinema. “Who I came from… the true feminists! #strongwomen #livelearnlove,” she captioned the post.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Kajol is being lauded for her performance in the web show The Trial – Pyaar, Kaanoon, Dhokha, which is helmed by Suparn Varma.

The courtroom drama is the Indian adaptation of The Good Wife, which starred Julianna Margulies in the lead role. Kajol plays Noyonika Sengupta, a housewife who starts practising law again when her husband’s public scandal puts him in prison.

Driven to prove herself in the competitive world of law and navigating her way through complicated relationships while seeking justice for her husband, Noyonika treads through tough challenges served by her fate.

Talking about the show, Kajol said, “The complexities are what defines a character to me and the layers surrounding Noyonika are what spoke to me when this role first came over. Noyonika felt personal, I instantly felt protective about her and that reaffirmed my faith in choosing The Trial – Pyaar, Kanoon, Dhoka to be my first step into the long format. Suparn Varma has built a world where the vulnerability of characters meets the cruel situations posed by life.” Jisshu Sengupta, Kubbra Sait, Sheeba Chaddha, Alyy Khan, and Gaurav Pandey are also a part of The Trial.