MUMBAI: Namita Lal, who has been a part of movies like Before Life After Death, Lihaaf, Country of the Blind, Oxygen, and My Goal: Football, says though her father Sheo Kumar Lal  was not supportive of her choosing a career in theater, he never stopped her. She says she will forever be grateful for that.

Speaking on the occasion of Father’s Day, which will be celebrated on June 16, she said, “Though he did not stop me, he was not fully supportive of me going into full-time theater during college and after it, at that time, because he wanted me to be financially independent. And I thank him for that because it was important in those days and ages.”

“If I had not been successful, I would have been dependent on my parents for my earnings, and that was not something he wanted to do. But when I moved out of my banking career, he supported me fully and wholeheartedly to now jump into this in my second inning. So that's again his contribution, which has been huge,” she added.

Namita further said that she and her father Sheo Kumar Lal are both very emotional people and would tear up easily. “He and I are both very emotional people. We cry even at the simplest of ads. If there's a father-daughter ad, an ad about jewelry, or an ad with a father saying goodbye to his daughter after marriage, we tear up,” she said.

“Some of my favorite films have been about fatherhood. If you remember Babul with Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee, both of us really loved that film. The portrayal of fathers in the movie resonated with me because it showed the kind of father he is. I've traveled extensively with him all over the world, whether it's been to places like Vietnam, Thailand, China, or London. He has always been very, very close to me,” she added.

Plans for Father’s Day? “I hope to at least be with him on video on Father's Day or maybe I will give a surprise visit to him in Pune. His birthday is coming up, and I always think about him in my prayers and gratitude,” she ended.