Aishwarya R. Dhanush was welcomed by a crazy fanbase at the Front Lawn on the third day of Jaipur Literature Festival. Everyone wanted to know what it was like to daughter of the Superstar of the country: Rajnikanth.

And, that’s why she wrote her book, Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars.

“There was nothing abnormal about my childhood. We were not treated in a special manner. Since most of my childhood was in Bangalore with my grand parents, and school was the building across the street, we used to walk in and about every day.”

“No, things didn’t even change when I went back to Madras. We were supposed to be away from the cinema, never taken on shoots, and since I used to study at my mother’s school, having a ‘special’ childhood was out of the question.”

So yeah, just like us, they had friends across the street that they’d play with every day. 

Aishwarya talked about how her relationship with her father was:

“Appa has an abiding faith, and that is his biggest strength. He’s more spiritual rather than religious. Our gods have blessed us more than in abundance.”

“When Dhanush and I fell in love, and I informed Appa, he told me to marry him ASAP! We were not supposed to have a courting period.” She laughed.

“Our father used to be away most of the time and we rarely got to see him. Now, I understand why mom used to tell us to spend quality time with him as much as possible.”

Me: So, when your father was the Superhero for the rest of the country, how was your mother yours?

Aishwarya: I think that if I’m sitting here it’s because she’s been a super mom at home and she’s the one who is holding the family together. If she hadn’t been home with us, we’d probably not be able to travel this much or pursue our dreams or passions or do anything at all. And that itself proves that she’s a supermom.

You can read more about Aishwarya’s life story and her relationship with her parents in her memoir Standing on An Apple Box: The Story of A Girl Among the Stars.

Photo Courtesy: Chhaveesh Nokhwal