She has just wrapped up the shoot for Student of the Year 2, the much awaited sequel to the earlier blockbuster by Dharma Productions. Actor Manasi Joshi Roy is experiencing a phase of well-deserved, sheer contentment. Her return to the telly last year was marked by the serial Dhai Kilo Prem, and now that her daughter Kiara is all of 16, Manasi is game to take up more projects, to add to her rich repertoire spanning Kkusum, Saaya and Gharwali Uparwali.
Excerpt from a conversation
You returned to the screen after almost a decade. No regrets?
None. I took a break from work when Kiara was six and I feel it has been the best decision I have ever made. That time with my daughter was very important, as it consolidated my relationship with her. Not that now that I have started working again, my relationship is not the same. But at that time, I feel I made right decision. I always feel working along with parenting is possible, given the dynamics are in place, like the support system, age of your child, your working hours. Also, as a matter of fact, a lull set into my work when Kiara was six. Nothing interesting was coming up. So perhaps everything happened for the best.
So you wanted to work as well, eventually then, after your almost decade long break?
Yes. See, my mother was always a working mother yet I never felt neglected. I have tried to be the same with Kiara. I shower her with love and care. Just as my brother Sharman (Joshi, the actor) and I always had the warmth and security of loving parents while we were growing up, Rohit and I want to give the same warmth and security to our child.
How involved is your husband, Rohit (Roy, the actor) in Kiara’s upbringing?
He is very clued in. He even knows the names of each of her friends and keeps track of where she is when.
Shilpi Madan for Indian Express