Veteran actress Anita Kanwal has spoken candidly about the struggles her daughter, actress Pooja Kanwal, faced while trying to establish herself in the entertainment industry. Reflecting on the difficult phase, Anita revealed that she put her own flourishing career on hold, accompanied her daughter on shoots across the country and abroad, and shielded her from inappropriate propositions that left her emotionally shaken.
‘I struggled more for Pooja than I ever did for myself’
Pooja Kanwal made her acting debut with Rajshri Productions’ Uuf Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai in 2004 and later appeared in films such as Jawani Zindabad and Blue Oranges. Despite a promising start, the success she hoped for never materialised, and she eventually moved away from acting to focus on hosting and anchoring.Speaking on Siddharth Kannan’s podcast, Anita revealed how deeply invested she was in her daughter’s dream.“I think I struggled more for Pooja than I ever did for myself because I knew how badly she wanted to become an actress from childhood. She had everything going for her. She was a great dancer, she was good-looking, and she was a capable actress. That’s why I fought so hard for her,” Anita said.Looking back, however, the actress believes things worked out for the best.“Today, I am very happy that she did not follow in my footsteps. She is in a much better place in her life now,” she added.
Anita recalls confronting people over inappropriate advances
Anita also opened up about the unpleasant experiences her daughter encountered while working in the entertainment industry, particularly during projects in the South.“While she was working in the South, there were people who would call and say all sorts of inappropriate things. Whenever I received such calls, I would give them a piece of my mind. They never called back after that,” she recalled.The actress alleged that some individuals suggested “compromises” in exchange for work opportunities.“There were people who would talk about compromises and what they could offer in return. I would tell them, ‘I will come to Hyderabad and break your legs if you ever speak like that again,’” she said.According to Anita, those incidents deeply affected her daughter.“Pooja was shaken by all of this. It was fortunate that her future husband came into her life at the right time. Otherwise, I think she might have completely broken down emotionally,” she said.
‘I left work for two-and-a-half years at the peak of my career’
Anita revealed that the family initially expected Pooja to begin her journey with television serials. However, landing a Rajshri Productions film raised hopes that bigger opportunities would follow.“We had thought she would start with television serials. But when she got a Rajshri film, our hopes naturally increased. We felt that things would finally fall into place and something good would happen. When that didn’t happen, coming down from that level of expectation was extremely painful,” she said.Determined to support her daughter, Anita put her own career on hold for nearly three years.“I didn’t work for nearly two-and-a-half years. I would travel with her wherever she went for shoots. If she had a shoot in the South, I would go there. If she was shooting in Bangkok, I would accompany her there too. I was struggling alongside her.”“I left work for two-and-a-half years at the peak of my career because my daughter was only 17 years old. I couldn’t send her alone. As a mother, I felt it was my responsibility to be there for her,” she added.
