Mom's presence gave me strength: Sheena

Sheena, daughter of actor Sadhana Singh of Nadiya Ke Paar fame, insists that she wasn't uncomfortable shooting intimate scenes with Ruslaan Mumtaaz in front of her mother for Satish Kaushik's film on teen pregnancy ' Teree Sang.
When Anjan Dutt's Madly Bangalee dwelt on the issue of teenage pregnancy, the director showed the teenager opting for abortion.But in Satish Kaushik's film on teen pregnancy ' Teree Sang ' his protagonists boldly face the consequences of their 'mistake'. Sheena, who plays the protagonist in TS, talks to TOI about Indian cinema coming of age.
Since you hail from a royal family of Sahabadis in Jharkhand, wasn't it difficult for you to make a debut in a film dealing with teenage pregnancy?
My mom, actor Sadhana Singh, has been my inspiration for choosing this career. She made her debut in Nadiya Ke Paar that was later remade into Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! Ever since childhood, I must have watched NKP at least 50 times over, if not more. HAHK must have got me to the theatres thrice. My dad, who is a producer, was orthodox. It was my principal who called my parents over and told them to support me in following my dreams. I was spotted by Sir (Satish Kaushik) when I went over to collect donation for my school from him. Later it turned out that my mother and Sir had also done theatre together.
Any dos and don'ts because of your lineage?
My grandfather is the pioneer of Bhojpuri films. I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. Since I wear short clothes in real life, I'll not shy away from wearing them in films. If I've chosen films as my career, I can't have any dos and don'ts.
Wasn't it difficult to shoot intimate scenes with your mother around on the sets?
So what if I made love in front of mom? I'm very open with my parents. Mom's presence gave me strength. Besides, I had started going to college while shooting for the film. I remember asking my mother and even Neena Gupta, who plays my screen mom, about how they went through labour pain in real life. It's rare that Indian cinema has treated this subject though I've seen Kya Kehna. In Kundan Shah's film, Preity Zinta was shown as a college student while my character in TS is all of 15 years.
Does this film openly talk about condoms and missing menstrual cycles?
Yes. We've done workshops so that we don't feel any discomfort. It's an awareness film. Such issues shouldn't be swept under the carpet. Though I haven't come across anyone who has faced this problem, I am aware that this is a pertinent issue in India and abroad. In February this year, a 13-year-old girl got pregnant in Italy. The news made headlines when she refused the court's order to abort her baby.
Should you ever meet a schoolgirl who gets pregnant, what would your suggestion be?
The tagline of our film is 'Kidult love story'. If kids make mistakes, they should take responsibility like adults. Aborting a child is easy but why should an unborn child be penalized for no fault of his/her own? Giving birth to a child and then dumping it in a garbage bin is equally unfair. Parents should understand that a baby conceived because of irresponsible behaviour can't be killed because it might scar the family reputation. Parental support is a must for a teenage mother who wants to be responsible for her mistake. If only India introduced a proper system of sex education!
Will your performance have a cathartic effect on any teenager who has gone through abortion?
Yes. I think she'll be moved.
Your mother has acted in Aparna Sen's Paroma and your family has also produced Bengali films. Any interest in Tollywood?
I'm now shooting for a Telugu film and am very focussed on Bollywood. But who knows what future holds for me?