Why would my mom go to the sets?: Paoli

On Mother���������s Day today, celebs discuss if ���������mummy-coddling��������� on sets is a thing of the past...
Paoli Dam
(Mother: Papia Dam)
I am a mama���������s girl but she isn���������t over-possessive about me. Rather, she is caring and inspiring and gives me a lot of space. Ma is a very well-balanced person and is the person who has initiated me into all things arty.Initially, when I didn���������t know the roads in the city, Ma would accompany me to the sets. But not any longer. If people don���������t take their parents to their office, why should I ask my mother to go to the sets with me? That too is my office, isn���������t it? She went to Bangladesh when I shot for Moner Manush. That was for her own traveling pleasure and nothing else. Even when I am doing Bollywood movies, she will never want to be there on the sets to supervise my work. She knows I am capable of handling myself. My mother���������s birthday was on April 21 but I was away in Mumbai and couldn���������t gift her anything. So, I plan to buy gold jewellery for her. She simply loves it. My mother is ageing gracefully and she looks so young that till a few years ago, people would call us sisters!
Mahie Gill
(Mother: Dr K Mohinder Gill)
I am a very independent person and can���������t ever imagine having my mother on the sets. My mother was a lecturer in a college in Punjab and I have lived in the hostel. She now lives in the US. I do miss her a lot and love her immensely. But it���������s only when she comes down to Chandigarh that we get to meet each other. Otherwise, she usually shuttles between New York and California. She hardly comes down to Mumbai. She had visited me once when I was shooting in Punjab for Dev D . But never after that. I have my manager and my staff to handle my professional work and don���������t subscribe to the idea of putting pressure on the producers by asking them to fly down my mother to be with me. I will be speaking to my mother on the phone today. That���������s our way of celebration.
Rituparna sengupta
(Mother: Nandita Sengupta)
It���������s always good to have someone to guide in the industry. If this guiding figure happens to be one of the parents, it only helps in boosting the confidence. Their support and presence acts like a safety ring for us since they are experienced. But the flipside to this is that a star mom can get too over-bearing on the sets if they pretend to be too possessive. One has to strike a balance. My father, Prabir Kr Sengupta, was the more possessive one and he would, at times, get into tiffs with producers and directors because he was quite stern with timings when I began my career. He was a bit of a terror on the sets. My mother, in contrast, is more chilled out. She gets bored watching shoots and hence doesn���������t take any fancy to accompanying me. She would rather prefer to spend time with my daughter at home. On Mother���������s Day today, I am celebrating my daughter���������s first birthday. That���������s like a gift for ma. As for her, I want to gift her a high-end oven. She loves cooking.
Archita Sahu
(Mother: Dharashree Mohapatra)
Yes, I���������m a mama���������s girl and extremely proud of this fact. From the day I became an actor, she is there with me. Personal life apart, she is such an integral part of my professional life that I feel completely lost if she is not with me. I think I���������ll still be a mama���������s girl when 40 or 50. This is a bone of contention between me and my sister. She accuses me of taking the lion���������s share of our mother���������s time. But, what can I do? She loves to manage my work and I indulge her. When I get married in future, I don���������t think there will be any problem. I���������ll still need her professionally. I guess, I will then have to answer my own phone. My sister and I always celebrate the Mother���������s Day mornings with her. We give her a surprise gift. That���������s like a ritual to us. Otherwise, this Mother���������s Day, we have to attend some special events.
Anu Chowdhury
(Mother: Saudamini Chowdhury)
My mother is my guiding light and is simply the best. But that doesn���������t mean she has to accompany me to the sets. It is for me to handle myself at my workplace and I am pretty clear that my mother doesn���������t need to be there to protect me. Of course, I love her company on the sets but that���������s not because she is my protector. This time around, I am in Bhubaneswar and will be spending quality time with her. I don���������t really believe in materialistic pleasures. Nowadays, we are so busy that we often don���������t even get the time to ask how our parents are. I am lucky to be able to spend time with her. Those moments of togetherness is my Mother���������s Day gift.
Pooja Bhatt
(Mother: Loraine Bright. She changed her name to Kiran Bhatt)
My mother has once in her life accompanied me to the outdoor shoot of Border. But she never came on the sets. It���������s not her world and she preferred staying away. I have never had any heroine getting their mothers on the sets. I have worked with very independent women, including Kajol, Bipasha, Mona Laiza, Gauri Karnik. Sunny Leone travels all alone. I guess, when I am around they don���������t need to worry. I am off to Sri Lanka to shoot the last leg of Jism 2. Besides, I am not into these token days. I don���������t quite like these marketing gimmicks.
Compiled by Priyanka Dasgupta and Madhusree Ghosh