Exclusive - Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye actress Sriti Jha: My parents have never put pressure on me to get married

Sriti Jha, who is considered as one of the most versatile actresses of Indian television and is currently seen as Amruta in Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gaye recently joined ETimes TV for an exclusive chat where she addressed several important topics about a woman's life like gender insensitivity, being financially independent. She also spoke about how her parents have never forced her for marriage. (Photo: Instagram)

I used to act in school and college. In school it was only Nukkad, natak and in college I did a little bit of stage. I was performing but it was primarily a co-curricular activity. It wasn’t in the plans to actually have it as a profession. However it happened to me and once it happened it was no looking back. (Photo: Instagram)

Mumbai is the most comfortable place to stay by yourself. It is an expensive city but staying alone here is comparatively easier than any other city. With regards to safety, like coming home late at nights and everything uss hisaab se Mumbai is safe. Also, Mumbai is a city which has maximum people coming from all over the country so aapke joh struggles hain dusre bhi usse aware hain. My family lives in Delhi. It has made me very dheeth (laughs). (Photo: Instagram)

I’m very strict about my life, I want my life a certain way and I don’t like it any other way. I really like my solitude and I always say that it is a privilege. It’s because your family and friends understand that you like being alone. As much as I like solitude I value the support of my family and friends immensely and the fact that they understand staying alone. This love for solitude has been realised and understood because I moved out of that cocoon. Ye agar main family ke saath rehti toh nahi ho pata. (Photo: Instagram)

I don’t think I had the recognition of it.. There was no awareness. My parents loved all of us equally. We are three siblings like two girls and one boy. There is gender insensitivity about women. How you judge a girl is very different from how you judge a man. Thankfully, now such conversations are happening. Ek gender masculinity pressure men also go through like us. Men are also pressured to do things they probably don’t want to do. I did not have any awareness as a child which is really sad that we are not taught in schools. I got to learn about feminism only when I went into college. Then I realised that these are the things which are so inherent. (Photo: Instagram)

Thankfully, no. I have to give credit to my parents for it. They have never given me that pressure of getting married. We are conditioned like this because we grow up seeing this happening around us. The first exposure is your parents, friends, sisters and you see around and you feel this is the natural process. Mujhe Kabhi itna pressure toh mehsoos nahi hota. (Photo: Instagram)

There are many stereotypes that I would want to change but I would name two here. First women having jobs and secondly judging women on the basis of how they are dressed. Both good and bad judgement. If a character wears a salwar suit we make her character chart in our mind, and if a girl is wearing western clothes ek character graph register hojaata hai, I would like to change that. (Photo: Instagram)

I’ve also quit shows when it becomes too much a problem for me. But I also feel every character has its journey. There are times when I read a scene and feel who does that but I also know this character I’ve not created and it is another person. It is not Sriti reacting to a certain situation. Like my character Amruta is so feisty and I’m not like her. I’m more quiet and if I have discomfort in a certain situation I might not express myself. I would like to be more like her but I’m not. Amruta is created by a team of writers and it is a different person. (Photo: Instagram)

My parents are very involved in handling my expenses. Both my mom and dad are very involved with how I take care of my life financially. Whatever savings I have I owe it to my mother. Because she has made all the investments at the right time. She actually manages most of our finances including my father’s. My father and I are extravagant people. We spend a lot on things we love to do. We have a lot of self love. My mother is the one person who manages our finances so that we can be extravagant along with savings. I am in a profession where Kabhi job hai toh hai nahi hai toh bilkul nahi hai so we have to be financially secure. Everybody should be aware of how to take care of yourself financially. Money is very important. (Photo: Instagram)