The Ageless Diva of Bollywood, Malaika Arora, recently opened a childhood window for her fans in an emotional way by putting on public display how her upbringing in a single family home developed her work ethic. Malaika talked about several struggles her mother Joyce Polycarp went through and the burden of responsibility that became part and parcel of self-made stardom.
Malaika Arora’s Childhood of Responsibility
Being brought up by a humble middle-class family, Malaika became “extra responsible.” When her parents divorced at the age of 11 years, Joyce was solely responsible for their two daughters, Malaika and her younger sibling, Amrita Arora.
“I became responsible way before my time,” said Malaika as she remembered when she looked after Amrita while their mom slaved to provide food, education, and clothes. The burden early on instilled a deep sense of duty and forced Malaika to start earning at the age of 17, focusing on saving and investing rather than partygoing.
Insecurities and Financial Drive
Life under a single mother has the financial insecurity that fuels ambition in Malaika. In an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla, she opened up, “You go up with certain insecurities,” and she alone brought contributions to the house. Joyce’s sacrifice of selling all her valuable things to fund school fees.
Today, Malaika has the habit of measuring expenses meticulously, such a quality has its roots in growing up in difficulties. From growing up in a middle-class household to Bollywood fame, it tells how adversity cut her string of financial independence and graven spirit.
No Liberty to Pause
Malaika’s own phrase “Liberty toh hai hi nahi”, which translates to meaning that liberty currently doesn’t exist, describes her reality as a working single mother after her divorce with Arbaaz Khan in 2017. “I can’t put my feet up and say ‘Arre mujhe kaam nahi karna,” she added,
She said there is a need to constantly create something towards the sustenance of her son Arhaan and the continuity of her lifestyle. “People pass judgment on your glamorous image but do not see behind the efforts,” she said, replying to the several myths surrounding her journey. It is now, drawing inspiration from her mother’s grit as a role model for women, that she tries to balance motherhood and her career.
