Woman Up S3 EXCLUSIVE: Neelam Kothari on parents’ reaction to her joining the films: ‘It was a big capital NO’
Neelam Kothari shared how she convinced her parents on her decision to join the films.
International Women’s Day is just around the corner, and Pinkvilla is back with some interesting interviews in the third season of the special annual segment, ‘Woman Up’. During the third episode of the annual segment, Pinkvilla got in touch with Bollywood actress and jewellery designer Neelam Kothari. The talented diva opened up about her decision to join films and her parents’ first reaction to it.
Talking to Pinkvilla, Neelam shared, “So I got the offer and I think for months my dad didn’t tell me…that I had got this offer. Because in their head it was a big capital NO. Our daughter is never joining films and we weren’t from the films, we didn’t have a filmy background. So my dad over lunch just mentioned to me…’you know, by the way you have got a film offer’. So I was a very shy girl. You know in school plays and stage performances, I was always the little girl right in the back in the corner. I was very very shy. So he told me and I said, ‘you know dad, the next time I go to Bombay, can I just try this out and I don’t mind weighing this option and seeing how this works out?’ He was like ‘no no impossible, you are not joining films’. Anyways so when I came to Bombay for my summer vacation, Ramesh Behl the maker of my first film said, ‘just do a screen test’ and I just loved it. I just loved being in front of the camera.”
“It was a discovery and my mum was like but you are so shy. You hardly speak, how could you do this? Anyway, we went back and forth a couple of months and finally they agreed and because I said that I'll do this one film and I’ll come back to Bangkok,” she added.
On being asked if she had to pick between jewellery designing and acting, what would her option be? Neelam said, “I can’t say either because facing the camera brings out another Neelam, I mean I just come alive and I feel so good being under the lights and in front of the camera. I mean it’s just a different feeling altogether. And when I am creating jewellery, it’s my passion, I love that as well. But I would say that I like being my own boss so I would say jewellery designing for sure.”
Watch the full interview here: