Shruti Haasan, who is known for her vibrant personality and her music, is the elder daughter of veteran actors Kamal Haasan and Sarika. The ex-couple has two daughters, Shruti Haasan and Akshara Haasan.
Shruti Hassan opened up about her parent’s divorce in a podcast with Pinkvilla; she spoke about the valuable lessons she learned from the separation.
She said, “See, I was born into a very beautiful family. Artistic, intelligent parents, and by the grace of God, lots of comforts. But I have seen the other side of it as well. When my parents split up, everything changed. That’s when I realized the value of financial independence and personality-dependent independence. Especially being a daughter and seeing that Mumma walked out of a marriage, taught me an important lesson on why a woman needs to be independent.
She also reflected on how their parent’s divorce affected the two sisters as children: “Of course, it is painful for the children as well as the parents. This is a normal part of so many homes today. And it is not like it is painful only when the parents are getting separated. There are homes where, for society, the parents live together; sometimes there is more pain in those homes because it’s hidden.”
Shruti said, offering a nuanced perspective on the complexities of family relationships.
“For me, when they were together and happy, they were the most beautiful couple I have ever seen because they used to work together, go to the sets together, and Mumma would do her costumes… The whole family was into movies… I was also in the costume department; my sister (Akshara) was in the AD (assistant director) department; she also worked in the art department. So we were all a family of film people,” Shruti recalled.
Kamal Haasan and Sarika got married in 1984 during the filming of their film Raaj Tilak. However, their marriage didn’t work, and were separated in 2004.
Shruti recalled saying her parents did make an effort but made the difficult decision to part ways. “But when they weren’t getting along, they were mature enough to speak to each other and decided, ‘We can’t.’ They tried a lot (to be together), but they couldn’t. Individually, they are two very talented people. I am happy they are still my parents. If they are happy separately, then it is good for us also,” Shruti concluded.