Being a star kid means growing up under the spotlight, often before you even understand what that truly means. With constant visibility come constant opinions, and over the years, many star kids have found themselves at the receiving end of harsh criticism. From childhood pictures to public appearances, everything is dissected, sometimes even leading to unfounded speculations about cosmetic procedures. In the latest episode of her talk show Two Much with Kajol & Twinkle, Kajol addressed the criticism that her daughter Nysa has endured because of being in the public eye.
“I remember things like… when Nysa was a kid, they were writing nonsense about her, because there were so many photos of her as a kid. And you know, all the paps and stuff like that, they would say really mean and horrible things. But kids are kids, they’re just cute kids. They have bad haircuts sometimes, they run around in regular clothes and not designer, fashioned airport looks. And I remember Nysa was really, really upset about that. Both my kids, in fact,” she said.
Joining her in the conversation, actor Janhvi Kapoor ,who has also been frequently targeted online, reflected on her own experience growing up in the public eye. She shared that her late mother, legendary actor Sridevi, was deeply protective and initially didn’t want her to pursue acting. “I think specifically with me, mom and dad were very innocent in their perception of what this media, paparazzi, social media world would become. We were giving everyone so much access. And at that point, mom was still very strict about, ‘I don’t want you to become an actress.’ She was like… It’s fine if people see her with body hair and two chotis and a moustache.”
She further added, “It was just the worst combination of things, specifically for me, I think, because my teenage years coincided with the onset of the social media boom. All of India suddenly had this microphone where they could, like, spew judgment on everyone. And I was just coming to terms with what the hell was going on. It was really hard, because it was a lot of things happening at the same time, and a lot of judgment and scrutiny.” Janhvi also admitted that sometimes she ends up laughing at herself, even trolling herself, recalling an anecdote:
“I think I troll myself a lot also. Like, I think when we were promoting Mr & Mrs Mahi, they had told us, the more animated your reactions are, the more screen time we’ll get to promote Mahi. So I went to this cricket match, and I was just reacting on random things. Like nothing was happening on the field, and I was like, ‘Oh God!’ and all of that was happening. And then they just put a montage of me reacting and cutting to the pitch where nothing was happening. I think it was half-time. And then I only commented, like, ‘I’ll have to cut 50 rupees, as I overacted.’”
Also Read | Janhvi Kapoor says she was ‘conservative’ about cosmetic procedures, got them ‘under Sridevi’s guidance’
Co-host Twinkle Khanna also added that while she doesn’t face much trolling herself, the negativity directed towards children can be deeply upsetting. “I get a little bit of trolling, not too much. But it really bothers me when somebody randomly starts saying things about my kids, and I think that gets to you. You don’t really care about what people say about you, but when they attack the kids, it’s very sad.”
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There has always been curiosity about whether Kajol’s daughter Nysa will follow her parents into films. However, Kajol recently clarified at a News18 event that Nysa currently has no such plans. When asked what advice she would give to aspiring newcomers, Kajol shared a piece of wisdom shaped by her own experience: “First of all, I would like to say, please do not take advice from everybody. If you ask people about what you should do, then 100 people would stand up and tell you to change your nose, hand, hair colour, this or that.”
