Karishma Tanna says her father didn’t see her face for a month after she was born: ‘He wanted a son’

Karishma Tanna recently talked about how her parents didn’t see her face after she was born as she was a girl. She said her mother told her about it later in life, and it broke her heart so much so that she decided to give everything to her parents that a son might have given to them. Karishma said she never wanted a ‘typical life’, where one gets married off and have kids. Also read: Karishma Tanna reveals she was out of work for 1 year despite success of Sanju

Karishma made her acting debut with Balaji Telefilms’ popular TV serial Kyunki Saad Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi at the age of 17. She became a household name with her role of Indu and went on to star in several other serials and reality shows. The actor in a new interview said she belongs to a lower middle-class Gujarati family. Although it was a joint family with her uncles and grandfather earning well with their businesses, the actor said her father struggled financially, ever since she was in second to third standard in school.

Karishma Tanna told Siddharth Kannan in Hindi, “My mother had told me when I was old enough that actually when I was born, my dad wasn’t happy. Because he wanted a son and there was family pressure, like typical Gujarati families. They thought a son can carry forward their lineage, earn more and they are superior. My mom had two daughters. My granddad and grandmom used to give us second hand treatment. It made me strong, I will show them what a boy does can also be done by a girl.” She said she decided at a young age to be the provider for her family.

“Jab mai pada hui thi, meri mummy ne ek hafte tak mera chehra nahi dekha tha. Mere papa ek mahine tak dekhne nahi aye hospital me kiuki dusri bhi ladki hi hui (When I was born my mother didn’t see my face for one week. My father didn’t see me for a month). When my mom told me that it broke my heart. It’s not that my father didn’t love me. It was because his second child was also a girl and family pressure was there, so he didn’t come to see me. But, it broke him also from inside. Mujhe oh betiyan pasand hai par mai apni family ko kya kahunga (my dad liked girl child but how could he tell this to his family). This girl is also going to get second hand treatment, what is her fault? After this, I decided and told my father that I will do everything that you expect from a son. Main ladka ban k dikhaungi (I will be your son) and I did that,” added Karishma.

Karishma will be next seen in Hansal Mehta’s upcoming Scoop. The Netflix series features her in the role of Jagruti Pathak, a journalist. It is set to be released on June 2.