Renuka Shahane Reveals How, As A Child, Kids Wouldn’t Play With Her As She Came From A “Broken Family”
I believe that we, as a society, emphasize and focus way too much on the concept of ‘normal’. What is normal for one person may not be for another. It’s a highly subjective phenomenon. For instance, people whose parents are divorced have a completely different sense of ‘normal’ than those whose parents are still together. I mean, what family isn’t dysfunctional in their own way? Which is why looking down or discriminating against families, or children belonging to families that are different than yours, is wrong and problematic. Sharing her own experience, this is exactly what Tribhanga director Renuka Shahane is talking about. #AllFamiliesMatter.
In a recent interview with Kusha Kapila for Netflix, Renuka Shahane talked about how her parents separated when she was merely eight years old. She said that while she is exceptionally close to her mother, because she was so young she felt the impact of their separation in various aspects of her life. Renuka mentioned how other parents would warn their children against playing with her because she came from a “broken family”.
Renuka Shahane said, “My parents separated when I was eight. You know, people used to look at us and say we come from a ‘broken family’. I have had people saying, ‘Don’t play with them because they come from a broken family’. As if, it is like, maine haath lagaya hota unko toh unki bhi family break up hoti (if I would have touched them, their families would have broken up too). I just don’t get it. At eight and nine and ten you don’t understand what is wrong with the adults in this world.”
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Why are people who come from “broken homes” looked down upon? From where I stand, I would rather my parents live separate but happy than them being together and miserable. Yes, children are affected and scarred when their parents separate. But just like Renuka said, divorce is not some contagious disease that can be passed on to other families. Telling your children to not play with kids whose parents aren’t together is just cruel. We waste so much time running behind the notion of a perfect family that we forget that it’s okay to not be perfect. There is a deep stigma that is attached to the concept of divorce in our country and it’s high time that it’s debunked.
Renuka’s debut venture as a director, Tribhanga, starring Kajol, Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar, is a family drama that revolves around women of three generations. In the same interview, Renuka also talks about what inspired her to write this script. She talks about unconventional women and how they aren’t given as much representation. In fact, they are always judged instead of celebrated.
Also Read: Tribhanga Review: A Story Of Mothers And Daughters To Watch For Its Themes And Not Execution
Renuka Shahane said, “Unconventional women are not given enough scope to be as they are. They are not celebrated, they are always judged. Whether it’s our television or whether it’s the conventional media. While even the most perverse men, on-screen, are given exceedingly good backstories to kind of make us sympathize with perverse characters. And that doesn’t happen with women. And also I felt this whole thing about, what is feminism? There are so many different types of feminism and each one needs to be included.”
We can’t agree with her more!
https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/hina-khan-opens-up-about-her-conservative-family-and-how-she-has-carved-her-own-path-she-really-is-living-life-on-her-own-terms/
