Esha Deol reveals Father was against Her entering Bollywood

Esha Deol has revealed that when she told her father Dharmendra about her plans to enter Bollywood, he was against it.

The revelation comes amid the impending release of her short film Ek Duaa.

The film tells the story of a mother and daughter, highlighting the issue of discrimination against girls within society.

When asked if Esha and her sister Ahana ever faced any kind of discrimination whilst growing up, she told Indian Express:

“Not really and not to an extent that it personally affected me.

“Since childhood, I have been strong-headed and knew exactly what I want to do and what not.

“So all the right choices and even the mistakes that I made, were my decisions.

“Also, I have always had a very strong personality and nothing could affect me.”

However, she opened up about her father’s objection to her entering Bollywood.

On whether she had it tough forging her own path as a female, Esha said:

“I wouldn’t say that they have it tough.

“Yes, there is a different level of challenge and boys too have their own set.

“As far as my father is concerned, he is possessive and orthodox, and for him, girls should be kept away from the world in a protected way.

“That was what he must have felt, also knowing how our industry functions.

“All said and done, we managed and how!”

Previously, on an episode of The Kapil Sharma Show, mother Hema Malini spoke about Dharmendra’s objection, despite Sunny and Bobby Deol already being established actors.

Hema had previously said: “Dharamji didn’t like his daughter dancing or making her Bollywood debut and he had an objection to that.

“Later when Dharamji got to know the type of nritya (dance) which I do and how people appreciated me and my work, which fortunately made him change his mind and then he accepted his daughters dancing and also Esha’s Bollywood debut.”

On the work front, her short film Ek Duaa is part of the Voot Film Festival and has been produced by her.

Esha Deol revealed that producing a film is something she always wanted to do.

“I was approached for Ek Duaa as an actor but when I heard the script, it did something different to me.

“Given I am a mother and daughter myself, it pulled at my heartstrings very strongly.”

“I knew that I wanted to be a part of it in more ways than just an actor.

“It was an extraordinary film and if I were to make a film someday, I wanted to do something like this.

“And that’s how it became my first project.”

Esha also said that being a producer made her feel more responsible.

She continued: “I wanted to make sure everyone was well fed and taken care of.

“I wanted to make them part of a family and that they too should consider this film as theirs. That was my sole intention.”

The short film has been directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee and Esha called it a “beautiful story”, adding that she hopes it addresses a wider issue.

“I hope it creates a positive impact among viewers.”