Highlights
Anita Hassanandani Reddy, who has a huge fan following in the Indian television industry, is all set to return to television after a gap of five years. The actress who left her acting career for sometime due to her pregnancy and to look after her young son is now back in action with her new show Suman Indori. This article looks at how Anita, a young mother balances her responsibilities as a mother and an actress; the difficulties she encounters, the ways she organizes herself and the highs and lows of having to leave her son at home while she performs.
The Comeback: Life After Childbirth
It was a major achievement of her career to come back to television after the show Suman Indori. She considers this as her proper comeback to work after doing a small stint in Hum Rahein Ya Na Rahein last year. The 43-year-old actress confesses that it has been quite a task and she had to get her mind set for the same as leaving her 4-year-old son Aarav behind.
Anita speaks openly and says, “Leaving Aarav has been a real struggle for me as a mother but I am managing it well now. I love my work and have been missing shooting so there is a bit of mom guilt which comes along with the excitement.
Striking a Balance
In order to be able to cope with the work schedule, Anita has come up with a plan that would enable her to spend half of the time at home and the other half at the set. They have the child for three days in a week and the rest of the four days are filming days, thus getting quality time with the son. This has been advantageous to her in that she has been able to sustain close contact with Aarav and still work.
Anita says, “I try to take him along on the weekends and now he also knows how to video call and has been a great support. He is young, almost four years old but understands that his mom has to go to work and will come back.” She waited for the right time, that is when Aarav was of age, to understand that his mother had to go to work.
As much as there has been planning, there have been issues that have cropped up. Anita says, There have been days where he has video called me and cried missing me. I am also disheartened and start missing him. Then I do something or the other to cheer him up and we are fine.
The Emotional Journey: The Reality of Balancing Mom Guilt and Career Ambition
It is a known fact that coming back to work after a long time can be very tasking in its own way, especially in the emotional aspect. Anita also does not shy away from the fact that she struggles with the so-called ‘mom guilt’ and it is challenging to leave her son behind to follow her passion. But she also understands the need to follow her passion and be a role model for her child as well.
Rohit Reddy, Anita’s husband, is the key to her career comeback and is very supportive of her. She says, “Rohit also takes time off to be with Aaru when I am working, so we are trying to make sure he does not miss out on anything. We are doing our best to make sure that we both can work and at the same time give him the attention he deserves.”
The actress also stresses on what she referred to as the psychological aspect of working mothers. She says, “I was mentally prepared for this. TV does take a lot of time, but I’m lucky that my shooting schedule is not continuous and there are gaps in between.”
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