Moushumi Chatterjee’s advice to daughter: ‘You have a boyfriend, don’t have to marry him’ - The Indian Express
Veteran actor Moushumi Chatterjee achieved great success with her debut film, Balika Badhu. After its release in 1967, when she was a pre-teen (around 12-15 years old), Moushumi’s family arranged her marriage with Jayanta Mukherjee, son of the legendary composer-singer Hemant Kumar. The actor has often opened up about how marriage and motherhood happened quite early to her. At a recent event, Moushumi got candid about giving a major life advice to her daughter Megha Mukherjee.
During a conversation with Nayandeep Rakshit at the Jagran Film Festival 2026, she called herself “progressive” and shared, “I tell my daughter ‘You can have a boyfriend, but you don’t have to marry that person’.”
The actor further requested the women in the audience to prioritise themselves. “You girls, be careful today. Be a little selfish and self-centered because the times have changed now. It’s written in Gita as well, ‘Parivartan sansaar ka niyam hai (Change is the only constant)’,” she said.
Moushumi continued, “Change has happened now, and we have come forward as compared to older times. We teach our daughters to take care of their in-laws’ house, but we don’t teach our sons. We think that the woman has to do chores, it’s not a man’s job. Today, the younger generation is so stressed. They aren’t able to enjoy their life. They don’t have time for themselves.”
She urged everyone to never repeat their mistakes and revealed following the same mantra in life. “Don’t do anything to prove to others. I have turned 70 now. Do what you like, but don’t go overboard. If you make a mistake once, don’t repeat it. I have also made mistakes in my life. But once I knew it was not done, I never repeated it. We are human beings, we have a conscience but we don’t analyse it.”
Moushumi Chatterjee lost her elder daughter Payal in 2019, after a prolonged battle with diabetes, and spending two years in a coma before her death. In an earlier interview, the actor alleged that Payal’s husband and in-laws were negligent with her medical care, and prevented Moushumi from meeting her daughter. In fact, in 2018, the Anuraag actress had filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, requesting to be appointed as Payal’s guardian.
During an interview with Nayandeep Rakshit earlier, she shared, “I don’t think my husband has completely gotten over Payal’s death. I am also not over it. This vacuum will be there throughout our lives. We can’t get over this grief. When a child dies, nobody can get over that. Payal was very motherly to Megha (younger daughter) because they had an eight-year age gap. Sometimes he (husband Jayant) would get up in the night howling Payal’s name. These things you can’t explain with words.”
