Kajol says mom Tanuja worked around the clock for years, was never paid what she deserved: ‘I didn’t want to join Bollywood’

Veteran actress Tanuja Mukherjee, remembered fondly for her roles in classics like Jewel Thief and Haathi Mere Saathi, and for her onscreen chemistry with superstars such as Rajesh Khanna and Uttam Kumar, has long been celebrated as one of Indian cinema’s most versatile performers. Yet behind her luminous career lay years of relentless work and underappreciation, something her daughter, Kajol, says almost discouraged her from joining the film industry.

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, Kajol spoke candidly about her mother’s journey and how it shaped her own understanding of success and struggle in show business. “When I was growing up, I realized that she struggled a lot,” Kajol shared. “She worked 24/7 and didn’t get paid even half as much as she should have. It wasn’t a stable or continuous source of income. I remember thinking, ‘I never want to work that hard.’ She would work from seven in the morning till late at night, sometimes coming home only to bathe and head back to set. She did that for years when we were kids. Nobody could pay me enough to do that — that was the main reason I hesitated to take on certain things.”