Kareena Kapoor reveals why films like 'Daayra' “terrify” her as a mother of two boys

Highlights

• Kareena Kapoor says films like Daayra make her think deeply about how she raises her sons, Taimur and Jeh.
• The actor wants boys to grow up kinder, more emotionally open and unafraid to cry.
• She revealed that one scene in Daayra left her disturbed while also becoming one of her favorite scenes.

Kareena Kapoor has opened up about how Daayra made her reflect on raising her two sons, Taimur and Jeh, and the kind of men she hopes they will become.

Speaking at the trailer launch of the upcoming investigative drama, the actor admitted that stories dealing with disturbing realities can be frightening from a mother's perspective. But for Kareena, they also reinforce the importance of teaching boys empathy, responsibility and emotional honesty.

“I am a mother of two sons, and I am terrified because, as a mother, you want to do your best and you want to protect them,” Kareena said. “All I wish for is that they should be kinder. Men should be kinder. Boys should be kinder.”

Kareena wants her sons to embrace their emotions

Kareena also challenged the idea that boys should hide their emotions or avoid crying.

“There is this thought that a girl is always very sensitive, but that is not true,” she said, adding that she encourages her sons to cry when they need to.

“I always tell my sons that if they want to cry, they should. They should experience that,” she said.

Her comments come as Daayra explores difficult questions around justice and the systems that are supposed to deliver it. The film stars Kareena alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran, with the story following an investigation that places their characters in a complicated situation.

The Daayra scene that left her “choked”

Kareena also singled out one scene from the film that affected her deeply.

“In this film, some scenes would automatically choke you,” she said, recalling a sequence that became one of her favorites despite leaving her disturbed.

The scene addresses the deeply rooted belief that “galti hamesha ek ladki ki hoti hai”, or that a girl is always blamed when something goes wrong.

Kareena said Meghna Gulzar's writing made the scene particularly powerful, while the challenging nature of the material also made it rewarding to perform.

Daayra marks Gulzar's return to Junglee Pictures following Talvar and Raazi. The investigative drama is written by Gulzar, Sima Agarwal and Yash Keswani, with Saurabh Goswami serving as cinematographer and Charu Shree Roy as editor. The film is backed by Junglee Pictures and Pen Studios.