“My upbringing was fairly conservative. My parents always wanted me to take the academic route. They thought it was the only way I could achieve some form of stability in life. But I had other plans – I was constantly stuck to my camera and I always had a story to tell! There was never a dull moment in school and college.
But my extra curricular activities meant nothing more than a hobby to my parents. I took part in various film festivals without their knowledge. They expected me to be a dutiful man who would study science and do a stable 9-5 job. But I had other plans. I took up Documentary Filmmaking as a career after my graduation and started working for few projects as a camera assistant. One day, I decided to take a break and went on a holiday to Himachal Pradesh for 10 days to do a photo-essay. This did not go down well with my parents. My father was angry because of my career choices. One day, he called me inside his room and asked me to leave the house. I thought he was joking.
He called me the next day asking why I was still in the house. That hit me hard
I decided to live on my own, surviving of off free lance projects. Although, things cooled down later on, I realized that my approach to life conflicted with what my parents had in mind for me. I understand that every restriction imposed on me came from a place of love and concern but there comes a point when I need to put my foot down and claim my independence too.

Now that I moved out and have lived on my own for the past one year, my relationship with my parents became much stronger. I am emotionally close to my parents now more than ever, even though we live physically apart. It’s amazing how a bit of personal space, a little breathing room can help us bond with our parents better.”

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