'They expected me to act like Kajol': Tanishaa Mukherji on initial days of her career

Bollywood actress Tanishaa Mukherji recently opened up on facing comparisons to her sister Kajol when she entered the film industry and expressed how it took a toll on her.

File photo

New Delhi: Bollywood actress Tanishaa Mukherji recently opened up on facing comparisons to her sister Kajol when she entered the film industry in an interview with a leading daily. The 'Neal 'n' Nikki' actress revealed that people expected her to 'look like Kajol, act like Kajol and beat Kajol'. However, Mukherji felt that was an impossible standard to live up to as they were different people. 

She told ETimes, "There have been points in life in the beginning of my career when everybody looked at me and expected me to look like Kajol, act like Kajol and beat Kajol. I was like, ‘I can’t be her. She’s got green eyes, much taller than me, curly hair and she’s nothing like me.’ I am sure she must have also had it when mom (Tanuja) was concerned. We’ve dealt with that and luckily for us we have a great mother, who has this amazing confidence. She would tell us, ‘you need to shine, you are a person and you need to be yourself."

Although Tanishaa was deeply affected by these comparisons when she was younger, now she only feels 'sad' for the people who compare her.

"These things would affect you when you are younger. Even now when people draw comparisons, I feel sad for them. It might sound a bit egotistical on my part but I don’t compute it in my brain. No two people in this world can be compared. Not a single soul can be compared to another soul. We all have our own individualities. The moment you start cherishing, comparisons go out of the window," she added.

Tanishaa is the daughter of filmmaker Shomu Mukherjee and actress Tanuja Samarth; she's also Kajol's younger sister. She made her acting debut with 'Sssshhh...' in 2003 and went on to star in several films such as 'Neal N Nikki' opposite Uday Chopra, 'Popcorn Khao!', 'Mast Ho Jao', 'Sarkar', 'Tango Charlie'. In 2012, she took part in the controversial reality TV show 'Bigg Boss 7' and emerged as the first runner up in the show.