Sharmila Tagore ensured her kids realised she’s not ‘neglecting them’, but her work is also important

Sharmila Tagore has said that during her younger days, she did little things to ensure that her kids understood her work was important to her, and she was also not neglecting them by going to work. Sharmila has three children -son Saif Ali Khan and daughters Soha Ali Khan and Saba Ali Khan. Soha and Saif are actors while Saba is a jewelry designer. (Also read: Kareena Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore spend Valentine’s Day with Jeh)

Sharmila was among the top heroines when she got married in 1968 with cricketer and Nawab of Pataudi, Mansur Ali Khan. She had already worked in films such as Kashmir Ki Kali, Waqt and Anupama. After the wedding, she continued to work and featured in some of the most iconic films of her career including Aradhna. She had her first child in 1970 and continued to star in films such as Amar Prem and Daag.

Recalling the bygone era, Sharmila told ETimes in an interview, “All working women were frowned upon because society thought we are bad women leaving our children behind and going to work. But there is a lot of sacrifice and pain doing that, but that is how we are judged. Somehow men’s work was valued, but not women’s. The man is earning money, your role is in the kitchen. That was very clear.”

She added, “So I always told my kids to get 10 on 10..like I would wish them for exams (and say ‘get 10 on 10’). In small ways, I made them realise that I am not neglecting them but my work is important to me. It makes me happy. Just so they learnt to accept me as a working person. They would ask me questions about my work. They did not think I was leaving and depriving them by going to work.”

In her upcoming film Gulmohar, Sharmila essays the role of a matriarch who decides to live alone, away from her family after her kids grow up and start their own families. Directed by debutante Rahul V Chittella, the film also features Manoj Bajpayee, Suraj Sharma and Amol Palekar along with Sharmila. The film is set for a digital release on March 3 on Disney+ Hotstar.

The film marks Sharmila’s comeback to films, 13 years after she was seen in Deepika Padukone-Imran Khan-starrer Break Ke Baad in 2010.