Sushmita Sen recalls what her mum said on adopting at 24: You are a child yourself!

Sushmita Sen, whose  web series Taali based on the life on transgender activist Shreegauri Sawant has been winning widespread acclaim, has spoken up about her decision to adopt a child when she was 24 years old and unmarried in a a recent interview. The Main Hoon Na actress, who has two daughters -- Renee and Alisah, both adopted, has opened up about how people reacted to her decision at the time.       

3 things you need to know 

• Sushmita Sen is unmarried and has two adopted daughters  
• The 47-year-old actress adopted her first daughter when she was 24 years old  
• Her elder daughter Renee is now 24 years old 

Sushmita Sen reveals her mother was against the adoption

Sushmita has always been vocal about her decision to take the non-traditional route to motherhood. In a new interview with Humans of Bombay, the actress revealed that her mother was also against the idea of her adopting a child as she was only 24 years old. She decided to adopt in the year 2000 and admitted thinking that the process would be easier. 

(Sushmita Sen with her mother | Image: Sushmita Sen/Instagram)

Sushmita recalled feeling ready to mother a child. She revealed that her travels and the time she spent with children gave rise to her desire to be a mother. She said, “Somebody wants to be a mother, and there’s a child who wants to have, needs a mother. Perfect fit. Why can’t it just be that simple?” However, she added that her mother did not mirror her thoughts and felt that a 24-year-old, single woman cannot bear the responsibility of a child. She recalled, “My mother was like, ‘You are a child yourself! What are you talking about, what’s gone wrong with this girl!’ She was furious with me.”

Sushmita Sen felt grateful for her father’s support 

Her father’s reaction, the actress says, was in contrast to her mother’s. She recalled him being more ‘patient’ and understanding of where she was coming from. However, she confessed that he too suggested she get married first, to which she replied, “If I do get married and someone says no (for a baby), the marriage will break because this is my calling. So let me have a baby first, so no one can question it.”

(Sushmita Sen with her parents and daughter | Image: Sushmita Sen/Instagram)

The Aarya actress also confessed that it was her father who signed off the court papers, which aided the adoption process. She said, “It was with his support, that the courts finally gave me Renee. Without him, I would not have been able to. The Indian system is very particular, if not a father, a father figure, and that no better person than your own father. ” She claimed to be ‘epicly proud’ of her father for having signed all of his assets in her daughter’s name.