In an interview with The Free Press Journal, Esha Deol opened up about her upbringing, the valuable life lessons from her mother, actress Hema Malini, and her own experiences navigating motherhood and the evolving media culture. When asked about the importance of financial independence, especially for her daughters Radhya and Miraya, Esha emphasised that it is the very foundation of life

Actress Esha Deol, who has always been candid about her journey as a daughter, mother, and artist, recently sat down for a heartfelt conversation with the Free Press Journal. The actress opened up about her upbringing, the valuable life lessons from her mother, veteran actress Hema Malini, and her own experiences navigating motherhood and the evolving media culture.

When asked about the importance of financial independence, especially for her daughters Radhya and Miraya, Esha emphasised that it is the very foundation of life. “It’s one of the most important things - being independent, financially independent - is what I think life is. We live in a world where without that we can’t do so many things. And I don’t like myself depending on anyone for anything, and I’m not going to allow my daughters to depend on anyone for anything.”

Speaking about the pearls of wisdom she has received from her legendary mother, Esha revealed that the advice has been a lifelong treasure rather than a single piece of counsel. “I mean, she gave me lots of advices. A mother can never give one advice. Mothers constantly give advices. Her advices are like a treasure, I think. It’s many of them, I would say, put together. It’s not just one golden advice. And I don’t think any mother can give a child one golden advice. It’s just through life, when you’re experiencing things, that there are these certain words or certain things that are said to you which stay with you. So the ones that stay with me are the ones I will definitely give to my daughters.”

Motherhood has also reshaped the way Esha approaches her career and life choices. She shared how she carefully balances her roles to avoid the often-discussed 'mom guilt.' “See, like you said, I fit into things that I do. That’s because I choose to do things that I know I’ll fit into. By meaning fit into, I mean my time, energy and effort - everything I have to keep in mind to fit into something. That’s when I go ahead and do it. So I make wiser decisions today, being a mother.”

Reflecting on her journey through the changing media landscape, from the magazine era to today’s digital age, Esha expressed her perspective on clarifications and public perception.

“Somewhere, I didn’t have a problem with the magazine culture, simply because I chose not to react many times. Because what is your audience? Who are you giving clarification to? I believe, if there’s something you need to clarify, it is with your own, it is with your near and dear ones. That’s the most important place where you first make your stance or your voice be heard. See, having these kinds of platforms, there is a plus side and there is a minus side also to it. When I feel like there are certain things I would like the world to know or say, then they work with the click of a button. Back in the day, you know, there were magazines. I actually had fun with the magazines, because I grew up seeing my parents in magazines and then being part of that culture. So our generation has truly seen it all."