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Juhi Chawla
“My earliest memories of my father are when I was very small. We were in Delhi at the time and I remember him taking me to school on a scooter. I would sit behind him holding on to him. Soon we moved to Mumbai. He was an Income Tax officer, extremely honest and a man with principles. He always wanted me to do well academically. He hoped that I would go for higher studies and become a chartered accountant or a company secretary. He inculcated in me the habit of reading.I remember on Sundays we would read the comic section of newspapers together, especially ‘Ripley’s ‘Believe it or Not’.
He was proud of me and if anyone asked him about me, my father would start praising me and my efforts. I would feel embarrassed and would want to run away. I would want to tell him, ‘please dad, just stop it’. Now when I have kids, I understand how he felt.
Later on I joined movies and shifted to Seven Bungalows in Andheri. The area used to be relatively new and underdeveloped. When my father retired from service, he would take one of our staff every afternoon to plant a sapling along the streets and water them. I would wonder why my father was doing something like that. Now, years later when I have lost him and grown to realise how special our environment is, I look at the trees in the area and wonder which of these were planted by him. He is gone, but the trees are here giving shade to many.”
Amrita Rao
“I owe my personality and vocabulary to my father. He taught me all the basic etiquettes and that has made all the difference.
He always insisted on me wearing slippers at home, eating with fork and spoon and combing my hair as soon as I wake up. My father is often asked if he misses having a son. But his proud answer is, “No! because I have a star.”
Pankhuri Awasthy
“There are many memories about my father but one I remember clearly was when I was going to join the theatre society in my college. There were several steps I had to clear. The last one was to describe my wildest fantasy. I was so scared to talk about this in front of a huge audience. I had to talk about guys and I had no idea what to talk. I called up my dad and he made it so easy for me. He told me that I can say whatever I feel since no one is going to judge me.”
Vivek Dahiya
“My father is a self-made man who came from a small village with the vision of becoming a lawyer. My favourite childhood memories entail him teaching me to iron a shirt, polishing my school shoes and taking me for haircuts. While growing up, I remember listening to his pep talks on pursuing goals.”