After making a mark with her acclaimed performances in Tanu Weds Manu (2011), Nil Battey Sannata (2015), and Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (2015), actor Swara Bhasker said she is no longer “chasing” after film roles in the same way she once did.
Swara, who welcomed her first child, a daughter Raabiya, in 2023, said motherhood has had a profound impact on her priorities and identity.
“I've been through an identity crisis, and maybe all women go through it, but nobody explains it to you. It's an experience that you've to feel, you've to go through it to understand,” the actor told PTI in an interview.
"The hardest part of being a mom was not knowing who I am. I was such an ambitious, driven person before this. I was always doing something, even when I was not shooting, like taking part in a protest, or I was planning a protest,” she added.
Currently, Swara finds herself balancing her time between motherhood and work. She stars with her husband Fahad Ahmad on the reality show Pati Patni Aur Panga, airing on Colors TV.
“I don't want to leave the house. It has been difficult for me to say yes and be doing this show (Pati Patni Aur Panga). Even when we're shooting, I'm juggling. I'm like, 'I'm nursing my child. ' It's been very hard to get to know who I am, and how I want to be,” the 37-year-old actor said.
“I'm not chasing films, I should. (But) I'm chasing financial stability, I suppose as a parent, you want to provide your child with a stable home. I would like to still do stuff, but I'm not in a rush to bounce back. I don't want to go back anywhere. I've a child, and she's going to be in my life forever. I'm a mom, I'll always be a mom till I live on,” she said.
Both Swara and Fahad were initially skeptical about taking up Pati Patni Aur Panga, which features popular married TV actors like Rubina Dilaik and Abhinav Shukla, Hina Khan, and Rocky Jaiswal, and is hosted by Sonali Bendre and Munawar Farooqui.
“When I got the offer, my first question was, 'How many days of shooting?' and they said one or two days of shooting in a week, I was like, 'Tell me what's the concept',” Swara said.
Fahad said he had initially rejected the offer to do the show.
“My apprehensions were like, 'I don't come from this world', so initially I said no. But when I came for the shoot, I realised it has a fun and light mood to it, especially when all the jodis are together, we enjoy it,” he said.
