'Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt are also working': Parineeti Chopra says audience no longer 'cancels mothers' as heroines

Parineeti Chopra is returning to the screen for the first time since the birth of her son with her upcoming show, Shaque.

Actor Parineeti Chopra is set to return to work full-time with her upcoming show Shaque, her first since the birth of her baby boy last October. At the film's trailer launch event in Mumbai on Thursday, the actor credited the film industry and audiences for allowing actors to continue pursuing their careers after becoming parents.

Parineeti Chopra during the trailer preview of mystery thriller series Shaque: Trust No One, in Mumbai, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (PTI Photo) (PTI)

In October, Parineeti, 37, welcomed her first child with her politician husband Raghav Chadha. The Netflix show Shaque marks her return to acting and her OTT series debut.

‘Audience no longer cancelling mothers’

Talking about her return after motherhood, Parineeti told reporters at the trailer launch. “I don't think I've had a single conversation with a maker, director or writer who has mentioned motherhood to me. I don't remember anybody saying, 'Now, that you're a mom, this is what we're offering you' and that lack of association is the win. I would hate to stop working just because I became a mom. It's a two-way relationship; I have to be offered work, and I would be sad to lose work because I've done such a beautiful thing in producing a baby,” she said.

The actor credited the audience for being more accepting and is no longer ‘cancelling mothers’. She added, “The audience is not cancelling mothers, and hence writers, directors and actors are able to make content. This business is not solitary; it is supply and demand with the audience. I'm glad the industry is changing and that the audience has made all this possible. So, it is all lovely and positive.”

Alia, Deepika, and Priyanka are also working

Parineeti hailed fellow actors Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and her cousin Priyanka Chopra for continuing to work after embracing motherhood. She said that this normalises the new trend. “It is sad that one generation had to pay that price because maybe that audience was not excited to see mothers; I fail to understand that, but that was the reality at some time. I'm so glad that our generation, including Alia (Bhatt), me, Deepika (Padukone), my own sister (Priyanka Chopra), who is working in the West, and all of us are able to be mothers, and we are doing the same quality of work. In fact, I think we are doing better work now,” she added.

Parineeti's last film was Imtiaz Ali's 2024 biopic Amar Singh Chamkila, which starred Diljit Dosanjh in the titular role.

All about Shaque

Shaque is a mystery thriller created by Rensil D'Silva and Siddharth P Malhotra. It stars Parineeti as a mother in search of her missing child. Shaque also stars Soni Razdan, Anup Soni, Jennifer Winget, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Harleen Sethi, Dhruv Chowdhary, and Sumeet Vyas. It will premiere on Netflix on September 24.