Image was shared on Twitter. (Courtesy: PatelPr30212740 )
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi is super busy with the promotion campaign of her comeback song Shararat which was released on World Music Day, June 21. Suchitra has recently opened up about her equation with ex-husband, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and how it impacted her career. Suchitra said that Shekhar Kapur was “very clear that he doesn't want his wife to act.” In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, she said, “My [then] husband [Shekhar Kapur] was very clear that he doesn't want his wife to act. I said, ‘Okay, no big deal.' I was too naive, too young to understand what he was trying to do.” Suchitra added, “I always had more talent than ambition so I didn't think anything would stop in my life. Though it did.”
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi made her Bollywood debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the 1994 film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The film, directed by Kundan Shah, also starred Deepak Tijori.
“It's a very patriarchal mindset but there has been too much water under the bridge now. I quit after my debut movie which was a super-duper hit. That was the reason that I quit. I continued with my music because that wasn't such an issue or so threatening but with acting it was very clear,” Suchitra said.
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and Shekhar Kapur got married in 1999. They parted ways in 2007. They are parents to a daughter, Kaveri.
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, in the interview, also admitted that she was “obsessed” with Shekhar Kapur. Recalling the time when she met the director, Suchitra said, “I feel that my marriage to Shekhar Kapur was past life karma that I had to fulfil. Because when I met him I got obsessed.” She added that as a 10-12-year-old she wanted to marry either “former Pakistan Prime Minister and legendary cricketer, Imran Khan or Shekhar Kapur.”
She continued, “I went to meet him [Shekhar Kapur] when he was casting for Champion. Well, the film did not see the light of day. Then I kept meeting him. And, he would call me for drives. One thing led to another. And, I fell in love. But he was clear that boss I am not serious. But I was so conservative in my head, I told him, “I am not that type of girl. I will not see you again if you don't marry me. That's all I wanted. I wanted to get married and have babies.”
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi, who comes from a “conservative South Indian family”, added that her parents were not happy about the relationship. “My parents were against this marriage as Shekhar was of my mother's age at that time. He was also divorced, and from the film industry. My mother begged me not to go forward with this relationship. They asked me to have an affair and get it out of my head. But I was sure that this is what I want and it is something that I brought on myself.”
Talking about the differences in their “painful relationship”, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi said, “Actually, when I got pregnant, I was leaving the marriage. I was moving to the Berklee College of Music. But I discovered I was pregnant. So fate has its own way of unravelling itself and unravelling your life story."
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi also revealed that Shekhar Kapur cheated on her. Sharing her opinion on infidelity, she said, “I don't think marriages break because of infidelity, they break up because of disrespect.”
Suchitra Krishnamoorthi also spoke about the societal pressure and how people wanted her to have another child and save the marriage. “A lot of women do that. When marriage is in peril, they have a baby. So I said no, what's the big deal? I would rather be on my own and live my own story with dignity than carry on in something that's not serving me, just for status and image and money," she said.