New Delhi: It appears Rashmika Mandanna hasn’t learned anything from Mira Rajput’s homemaker controversy.
Mandanna, who made her debut on Koffee With Karan, named Kareena Kapoor Khan as someone who has “really aced” being a homemaker.
During the rapid-fire round, Karan Johar listed a series of alternative professions and asked Mandanna to name an actor who would fit each role. She picked Akshay Kumar as a banker, Shah Rukh Khan as a life coach and Ranveer Singh as an international pop star.
But when KJo asked her to name an actor who would excel as a homemaker, Mandanna replied, “I think Kareena Kapoor ma’am has really aced that game.”
The statement brings back memories of a 2017 controversy when Mira Rajput’s comments on motherhood sparked a debate about working women and homemakers.
At a Women’s Day event in March 2017, Rajput spoke about her decision to stay at home and raise her daughter rather than return to work.
“I wouldn’t want to spend one hour a day with my child and rush off to work. Why did I have her? She is not a puppy, you know. I want to be there for her as a mother,” she said.
Her comments drew criticism from working mothers, who felt she was suggesting that women who returned to work after having children were neglecting their responsibilities as parents.
Kareena, who had also returned to work shortly after giving birth to her son, Taimur, responded without naming Mira directly.
“No one has the right to comment on how I conduct myself or what sort of a mother I am,” she said.
The actress also emphasised that every woman’s experience of motherhood is different.
“Every pregnancy and every mother’s journey with her child during those nine months and afterwards is different. You can’t draw parallels,” Kareena said.
She added that she would live life on her own terms and would not “scream from rooftops” about how much she loved being a mother.
Years later, in June 2024, Rajput revisited the controversy and admitted that she regretted her choice of words.
She acknowledged that her comments had hurt people and said she had grown since then.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)