New Delhi: Megastar Rajinikanth’s daughter Aishwarya is unsure of working with her father in future as she fears that she won’t be able to live up to the expectations of the audience.
Aishwarys, who made her directorial debut with hubby Dhanush starrer ‘3’ in 2012, says she doesn’t see herself directing her daddy in the near future.
“I don’t think I will direct him. I love the equation we share. The expectations would be difficult to manage. I don’t see it happening in future but you never know,” Aishwarya told PTI in an interview.
She, however, is looking forward to producing Rajinikanth’s film in 2017 with her husband Dhanush.
Aishwarya is currently busy promoting her book “Standing On The Apple Box”, which has been published by HarperCollins India.
“It is not a biography or about who my father is. It is a daughter’s take on growing with a larger-than-life superstar at home, and her memories and fears. It is also about me being a wife and a mother and all that in the aspect of being a celebrity kid.”
In the book, Aishwarya opens up about her father’s fear that they might choose acting as a profession but both the sisters opted for direction.
“It is a conscious decision from my side. I would not have been comfortable in front of the camera. Also, the idea never came up. I prefer to be the captain of the ship, call the shots and be more creative.
“Being an actress is a hard job. There is this pressure of looking good all the time. I think I am comfortable with what I am doing,” she says when asked whether she ever considered it.
The director credits her parents for giving her and sister Soundarya a normal childhood despite the hype surrounding Rajinikanth, something that she is also trying to do with her kids.
“I had a very normal childhood and this book will break the myth of ‘celebrity kids’. It is not all glamour. Life was simple and the credit goes to my parents. They decided to bring us up in a certain way and kept us away from public eye. I am doing the same with my children.”
The job, however, is much more challenging now with all the exposure, she says.
“There is a lot of peer pressure on them but I am strict mother. I try to keep it as normal as possible. We send them to the beach and to the park with my cousins or a friend that we trust. It is sad that we can’t be with them because it is important that they feel normal when they go out.The book has many nuggets from Aishwarya’s childhood and throws light on how Rajinikanth is behind his superstar persona.
“My father is very proud of the book. He loved it because it was like reminiscing. It is filled with nostalgia. He felt he could go back and relive those moments.”
Aishwarya, who credits her grandfather for inculcating a love for books and language, says she was not scared about being judged for her book because the stories in it come from her memories.
“I am not making anything up or exaggerating. It is a very real book. It is like reading pages from my diary. Most of the book is in first draft. We did not add or enhance things because I wanted it to be straight from heart.”
Aishwarya says being a woman, multi-tasking comes naturally to her but her husband Dhanush has been a huge support system every step of the way.
“There has not been a huge transition because being a daughter and a wife are two different roles. Dhanush has been a huge support system. If I am doing what I am doing, it is because of him being there and encouraging me. Every man should do that for the woman he loves.”
She is currently writing her next script, which will be a bilingual project and begin shooting by March or April next year.
PTI