Aishwarya Sakhuja is a proud Army kid as she admits it gives her joy when her father, Col (Retd) Sudhir Kumar Sakhuja, as a real-life hero, gets to enjoy a fan moment. In fact, she says that Army Day is a reminder of how close she is to her army roots.
“When it comes to a town or a city, everyone has a sense of belonging. For me, a sense of belonging comes from the military. The army gives me a sense of belonging. Because I grew up in this environment,” says Sakhuja.
The actor further added, “Growing up as an army kid has made my foundation different as compared to those who are not exposed to the army environment. For me Army Day is as important as Independence Day or Republic Day because Army is family.
How did growing up as an army kid change your perspective towards everything?
“I became more adaptable. Because every couple of years, we’re uprooted from the place we’ve just started calling home, because Papa’s postings have changed. And there’s no choice but to accept the change.” There’s a sense of adoption… in the end you become a lot more self-confident, it’s the only thing that carries us forward and allows us to form new friendships,” she says.
Here, she recounts a recent incident when she visited her father’s regimental center in Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
“That’s where I was born. Usually people come up to me and talk to me because of the nature of my profession. But there exactly the opposite happened. People were having fan moments with my father because of the way he commanded his regiment, and the relationships he has built over the last 40 years of service. It was very overwhelming for me to see people respecting and accepting it.”
When asked about the onscreen portrayal of the Army, Sakhuja says, “The representation of the Army has always been good”.
“People look at the army. It has made a name for itself, and they always live up to that dignity and respect in everything they do for us. So, they don’t need a movie to tell us that. We all already know this,” she concludes.
