My mother played a big role in my life: Paranjpye

PUNE: Veteran screenwriter and filmmaker Sai Paranjpye reminisced about the role her mother Shakuntala played in her life and career and her unique and often challenging childhood at an interaction organised by the Pune International Centre.
“Everything creative that I do in life begins with her. You can find her footprints in every little creations of mine. I was brought up in very strict atmosphere, and I would receive a spanking almost daily for every small misdemeanour,” Paranjpye told writer and editor Latika Padgaonkar.The interaction was organised to mark the launch of Paranjpye’s book A Patchwork Quilt, which captures her journey in television and film.
Shakuntala, the Cambridge-educated writer, social activist, and later Rajya Sabha MP, raised Paranjpye alone, after her divorce from Russian painter Youra Sleptzoff. “My mother had focused all her energy and creativity on me -- her only child. I had to learn to dance, I used to learn painting, I was thrown into the Tilak tank for an hour-and-a-half every day for me to learn swimming, and I had to learn horse riding,” she said.
She even sent me to Mirashi Buwa to learn classical music, and we never got past Raga Asawari because I could not sing. Much to my sorrow, she discovered that I could write. So, I was made to write three pages a day,” she said, calling her mother a “benevolent tyrant”.
She also recalled her mother’s “over-the-top arrangements” for her doll’s wedding. “But she didn’t turn up for my wedding,” Paranjpye said.
Paranjpye also spoke about her time at the National School of Drama and being influenced in art and theatre by playwright Ebrahim Alkazi. She also spoke about her work at the All India Radio as well as her work in children’s film, television, and theatre. She served twice as chair of the Children’s Film Society of India and made four films for the organisation.