Parineeti Chopra has spoken about the changing perception of motherhood in the Hindi film industry, saying female actors should not have to choose between raising a family and continuing their careers.
The actor, who is set to make her series debut with Netflix's Shaque: Trust No One, made the remarks while speaking at the trailer launch of the mystery thriller.
Parineeti pointed to actors including Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and her cousin Priyanka Chopra as examples of women who have continued to take on prominent projects after becoming mothers.
She said the current generation of actors is proving that motherhood does not have to affect the quality or ambition of their work. According to Parineeti, actors today are continuing to build their careers while embracing parenthood.
Reflecting on the experience of earlier generations, she said the industry once operated under a different perception of audiences and mothers working as leading actors. She described it as unfortunate that some women may have lost professional opportunities because of those attitudes.
Parineeti also made it clear that she would not want motherhood to mark the end of her acting career.
She said continuing to work after having a child should be viewed as a normal part of a woman's professional life, while acknowledging that actors also depend on filmmakers and producers continuing to offer them roles.
The actor credited audiences for the shift in the industry, saying changing viewer preferences have allowed writers, directors and performers to create stories featuring women at different stages of their lives.
PARINEETI'S OTT DEBUT WITH SHAQUE
Parineeti is making her series debut with Shaque: Trust No One, a Netflix thriller centred on relationships, suspicion and the uncertainty surrounding what can be believed.
The series has been created by Rensil D'Silva and Siddharth P. Malhotra, with D'Silva also directing. Alchemy Films is backing the project.
Producer and co-creator Siddharth P. Malhotra said he was drawn to the project after hearing D'Silva's initial narration. He described the series as an intense thriller driven by emotional relationships, unexpected developments and questions surrounding trust.
According to Malhotra, the show explores what happens when confidence between people begins to erode and even close relationships become difficult to understand.
The series features an ensemble cast that includes Soni Razdan, Anup Soni, Jennifer Winget, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Harleen Sethi, Dhruv Chowdhary and Sumeet Vyas.
For Parineeti, Shaque: Trust No One marks a new phase in her career as she moves into long-form streaming storytelling.