Kajol opens up on parents Shomu Mukherjee-Tanuja's separation when she was 4 year old

Bollywood actress Kajol has been, who is riding on success of her OTT debut 'Tribhanga', recently opened up about her parents, Shomu Mukherjee and Tanuja's separation when she was only four-and-a-half-year old. 

In a special episode of streaming platform Netflix's Behensplaining, Kajol, while acknowledging the fact that she had an 'amazing upbringing', said that she totally gets 'if it had gone even slightly wrong what it would have been like', hinting at that she would have had a troubled childhood had things gone wrong.

During the Netflix special episode which was being hosted by Kusha Kapila and had 'Tribhanga' director Renuka Shahane and Kajol's co-star in the film Mithila Palkar also in attendance at the virual rountable discussion, the 'Tanhaji' star said, "I had the most amazing upbringing ever. I am very lucky to have been brought up by such a forward-thinking, amazing person who taught me so much about life, growing up and about being an adult from the time that I was a child. But I totally get if it had gone even slightly wrong what it would have been like."

She continued, "My parents separated when I was about four-and-a-half years old and it could have gone very wrong. I have so many friends whose parents are together till today but not in the best spaces. They have not had great childhoods. I loved my father separately, I loved my mother separately and I loved them together as well."

The only thing she said she regretted was not having the opportunity to play her parents against each other. "I tried very hard but both my parents were too smart. They are too evolved. Damn!", Kajol laughed. 

Tribhanga is an Odissi dance pose that is asymmetrical, yet mesmerising, much like the lives of the three female characters of the film - Nayantara Apte, Anuradha Apte and Masha played by Tanvi Azmi, Kajol and Mithila Palkar, respectively. 

Earlier, in an interview with IANS, Kajol cherished her special bond with her mother Tanuja, and said she truly understood her only after she had a daughter. The actress says she realised her mother's sacrifices after having her daughter Nysa.

"I only understood my mother after I had my daughter. I always loved my mother, always admired her and thought she was amazing. But after I had my daughter, I remember calling up my mother and having this whole crying conversation with her, and telling her that 'I know how much you love me today'," Kajol said.

Recalling the conversation, Kajol continued, "At that time, I understood how much she loved me. I told her 'Today, I understand what all you gave up for me, how you felt about everything in life just because you had me in it and how everything changed for you'."

"And also how much effort she put into being my mom. I got it only after I had my own daughter. I realised what it took to bring up a child. My respect for my mother went up 100 notches after that. Her entire life played out in front of me, and her entire life took on a completely different meaning after that," added the actress, who gave birth to Nysa in 2003.