Aishwarya Rai says Aaradhya is sometimes upset because of paparazzi, but ‘this is the way of our chosen life’

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has weighed in on Gauri Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s recent comments about the paparazzi affecting the lives of their children.

Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has spoken about the attention that her daughter, Aaradhya, gets from the paparazzi, and how it sometimes upsets her.

“It’s there,”

Aishwarya said she tells Aaradhya,

“What can you do?” Aishwarya Rai and Aaradhya Bachchan watch the Bengal Warriors v/s Jaipur Pink Panthers Kabbadi match.

The actor was speaking to Pinkvilla, when she was asked to put in her two cents about recent statements made by Gauri Khan and Kareena Kapoor, about how the constant media glare is affecting their kids.

Gauri and Kareena have both said that their children prefer staying indoors because of the paparazzi.

“Protect is the keyword, and it’s the natural instinct of every parent,” Aishwarya said. “There’s no getting away from this; it is who we are. And we’ll be like this, I like saying, till my last breath.

Having said that, however much we would like to discuss it, it’s not going away. This is the way of our chosen life, this is part of our industry.”

She added, “With paparazzi, we can engage on a human level in requesting, some semblance of sanity around children. If they’re too loud, you can ask them to tone it down, because they’re not going to go away and we aren’t going to disappear from the face of the Earth.”

Aishwarya said that “Thanks to smartphones, everyone is paparazzi. I think intruding on someone’s privacy was, and always will be, an uncomfortable situation.” For her part, she said that ever since Aaradhya was little, she has tried to keep things ‘real and normal’ for her. “For us it’s probably weird because we have lived in a world where it wasn’t there. She’s born into a world where it’s only been there. Fortunately, I’m able to so far keep a twinkle in her eye,” she added.

Aishwarya will voice the lead character in the Hindi version of Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Angelina Jolie plays the character in the original English film. Asked about whether she has ever had the chance to meet Angelina, Aishwarya said, “I missed meeting her. She’d come down to South Africa, for one of our award functions. I think it was for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, when she and Shah Rukh were presenting my best actress award, so I missed meeting her then. I’ve not had a conversation with each other. We’ve just sort of clocked each other at Cannes. It was nice seeing her at the time and acknowledging her work. Would I like to meet her? Yes, it would be wonderful. Let’s see, at some point in time, if it’s meant to be.”

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is due out in theatres on October 18. Next up, Aishwarya will star in a film by director Mani Ratnam.