MUMBAI: Renowned film and television producer Ekta Kapoor, who is also a single mother of a son who came into her life through surrogacy, says that she has always been a non-conformist and maternal quality has nothing to do with gender.

Ekta became the mother of a baby boy named Ravie in 2019 and she explained how she never had a natural parenting quality that she rather learnt from her brother Tusshar Kapoor who is also a single father. 

Ekta said, "Just like Tusshar, believe that these stereotypical gender-based thought processes now are so broken because I don't identify with half the mothers, not even my own. I feel I am always lost and I am not this natural parent like Tusshar is. I'm always messing up and taking his advice. 

"I have much better control over my work than my son. I'm learning with him. You think it comes naturally, but it is not the case. Every day I realize that there are so many new things to learn. It's a natural progression for all, and gender has nothing to do with it. It came naturally to Tusshar, while it's been hard for me."

Being the daughter of the yesteryear star Jeetendra, asked about how her decision on motherhood changed her family dynamic, Ekta further added, "I think there is an age where you learn from your parents and after an age, you teach your parents, that's how life is. We didn't lead the conventional lives that people do and yet we maintained the warmth in our family. We probably are the most dysfunctional, functional family."

Since she is single and opted for surrogacy which is not a conventional way of motherhood like pregnancy, Ekta is well aware of how her son will face questions in future from the society. 

She said that she would rather teach her son to deal with those questions as he grows adult. 

"We protect our kids extremely and feel that they should have a normal life but is the world normal? No, the world is full of flaws. So I am really okay. Let my son live, let people question him, let him get a harder skin, and let him develop an attitude that I have a different life and that's what it is," said Ekta. 

She was speaking during an interactive season at the 'Arth - A Culture Fest Season 4' that took place in Delhi. 

SOURCE : IANS