Kareena Kapoor Khan: I am 70 percent a mother and 30 percent an actor now

Kareena Kapoor Khan has attained a level of fame where even her kids are celebrities in their own right. Taimur and Jeh are all of six and two respectively, but they have people following their every move.

As a mother, does this constant attention towards her kids perturb her? Khan says, “We are very open, both Saif (Ali Khan, husband) and me. We as parents have never really hid anything from the media too. My children are photographed because we believe if I give respect, I will get respect. I can’t ask for it, or beg for it. But if I am going to be equal with everybody around me, they will respect our privacy. And honestly, it has worked.”

The 42-year-old, who is currently shooting for Rhea Kapoor’s The Crew, adds that whenever she also tells the paparazzi to not click her kids while they are at school or with friends, they respect it. “We have to reach that mutual understanding because if I give respect, I want that.” she says. Khan has also been pretty cool with posting pictures of her family quite regularly.

“I give respect to my fans on Instagram, I let you into my life, maybe not a 100 percent. I make everybody feel involved in my life, and that’s something why my fans are still so involved,” smiles the actor.

Her priorities have also shifted ever since she embraced motherhood, and she decidedly takes on limited work. She asserts, “I am very hands on, I like to do everything, I am a 24/7 mom. That’s what I have been most of my life, then an actor. I would say I am 70 percent a mother now, 30 percent actor. I do have to follow and do things I love doing as well, like spread awareness about topics such as inculcating reading habits in children.”

Khan, like so many other women, multitasks her personal life with her professional commitments. However, the same thing done by a man is viewed with a different lens, it becomes a big thing. Khan laughs and says, “Women are just expected to be that, people think ‘she can do it’… of course we can do it. But in today’s time actresses are becoming a lot more vocal, bolder. They are saying ‘it’s not a big deal!’ We also don’t want to be addressed as anything different (or a multitasker).”