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Aishwaryaa R Dhanush talks about what it’s like to be Rajnikanth’s daughter
Aishwaryaa Rajnikanth Dhanush’s memoir Standing on an Apple Box shows readers what it’s like to grow up as the daughter of Rajnikanth, Tamil cinema’s biggest superstar. You’d think a celebrity child would have a glamorous life, and perhaps Aishwaryaa does but what’s more remarkable is how sheltered that life has been.
Aishwaryaa Rajnikanth Dhanush’s memoir Standing on an Apple Box shows readers what it’s like to grow up as the daughter of Rajnikanth, Tamil cinema’s biggest superstar. You’d think a celebrity child would have a glamorous life, and perhaps Aishwaryaa does but what’s more remarkable is how sheltered that life has been.
“I got a bit nervous when I got down from the car and walked into the HT building because I’ve never walked on the road like that before,” she says before the FB Live Chat. Her book then presents an accurate picture of what it’s like to live in a glass bowl and also an examination of what that does to a person.
While tales of wild star kids abound, Aishwaryaa’s parents clearly ensured that she and her sister Soundarya had a grounded upbringing. It’s something she says is being repeated with her own children, two sons, with Dhanush, another southern superstar. Incidentally, at a time when most young people are deferring marriage, the couple met in their early 20s and were married six months later, a rather brave move that Aishwaryaa refers to as “bungee jumping”.
Her great love and respect for her father comes through in her anecdotes about him. They also present Rajni Saar, the family man’s quirkily humorous side – on a holiday, when she lost her luggage, he got her to stride down Paris streets in his lungi! While the profusion of Rajnikanth jokes initially irritated her, she says she has now come to enjoy them.
Her favourite is the one she heard during Cyclone Vardha, which battered Chennai last week:” Why are we experiencing a cyclone? Oh it’s just Rajnikanth blowing out his birthday candles!
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