Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has many feathers in her cap. A former Miss World, an acclaimed actress, dancer and one of the most beautiful women in the world, but the one designation that she holds dearest to her heart is that of a mother. Irrespective of her numerous work and professional commitments she has always managed to keep Aaradhya close to her. During a candid interview with an eminent journalist, Aishwarya spoke about the fact that she is trying to raise her daughter as ‘normally’ as possible.

Addressing the audience during the interview, Aishwarya further said, “So if you see me atop an open bus in a picture with Aaradhya don’t get surprised because I would do it happily, as I have done the bus and the train like every college kid and know exactly how it gets at Dadar station. I also know how it gets in buses and I know how difficult it is to travel on public transport during the rainy season and I have done all that.” Naturally, her statements brought a lot of guffaws from the audience but it also brought understanding and empathy that Aishwarya has had her dose of struggle and she was not born with a silver spoon.

Talking about raising Aaradhya like a ‘normal’ kid, Aishwarya said, “I am not saying that I need to shove Aaradhya into all this in the coming years and yes we have to consider all aspects of our lives and it’s not as if one is going to treat her as privileged, but at the same time just to prove a point I am not going to be irresponsible as a mother. So I have to gauge circumstances but at the same time, I would like her to get an idea of how life is like for everyone. So this time we went to Euro Disney on our own without a personal guide and did the queues and all with no security.”

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Aishwarya is gearing up for her upcoming release Fanney Khan which also stars Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. In the trailer for the film, we get to see that Aishwarya who plays a pop diva takes a cab and in turn gets kidnapped. During the course of the interview, she was asked when was the last time she took a taxi and travelled by public transport, to this she answered with a laugh, “While shooting the scene for the film.” However, on a serious note, she said, “I remember during the Miss World days I used to take the tube a lot in London and people were like ‘Hai bechari, she is Miss World?’ and you’re like no they are not making me slum it out I am choosing to do this. It wasn’t as if I was treated less well but I wanted to do that. I want to take a bus with Aaradhya and probably will in the near future.”

Isn’t it heartening to know that unlike most of our Bollywood celebrities who never venture out without their domestic help for their child, Aishwarya has managed to raise her daughter single-handedly like any normal mother would? She never fails to inspire us.