Priyanka Chopra’s father ‘was upset to another level’ when mom decided to send her to boarding school: ‘Didn’t speak for a year’

 

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Madhu also shared an anecdote that made her feel like she was not a good parent to Priyanka. She shared, “One afternoon, Chopra (Ashok Chopra, husband) was coming back from work, and I was in the kitchen warming up the food… He asked Priyanka, ‘Can you tell your mum I have to go back in a hurry? Can I have a glass of water first then we’ll sit for lunch.’ She said, ‘Can’t you see I am busy?’ She was playing with her dolls. I heard her say that, and I was like, ‘Oh my god she is mimicking me.’ That’s what I used to tell her when I was writing my patients’ documents and writing all that. So I would say, ‘Can’t you see I am busy now? I’ll get back to you later!’ That’s exactly the same tone, the same words she repeated to dad. And I was in the kitchen, ‘Uh oh, I am not a good parent and somewhere I am going wrong.’”

Madhu also revealed that her husband was not in favour of sending Priyanka to a boarding school, and the decision caused tension in their relationship. “For me, it was meant to be for her better. I thought I was failing as a parent. She was a good student, so we took her to school, La Martiniere, Lucknow. She gave the entrance test, she aced it, and we got the call, and then I told my husband… He was upset to another level, we did not have a normal conversation for a year. But he said, ‘Your decision, the outcome is yours.’”

 

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The experience of sending Priyanka to a boarding school was not just difficult for Madhu, but also for her daughter. “Anyway, she went there, she didn’t know she was going to be in a boarding school. She thought she was going to a big school now. We took her there…uff, I still tear up, took her to her dormitory, and the matron came and said that it was time for all the parents to go. Priyanka said, ‘Why are you leaving? Am I not leaving with you?’, and I said, ‘No babe this is going to be your new school, new bed, and friends, and mom will come and see you…’ She was not mentally prepared, psychologically, there was no counseling, nothing. It was very… I don’t know whether I was a mean mother. I still regret it and cry over it. It was very hard for me too.”

Madhu would visit Priyanka every Saturday, but the frequent visits were disrupting her daughter’s adjustment to boarding school life. “The thing was, every Saturday I would leave from work, take a train, and visit her every Saturday. That was becoming disruptive for her because she was not able to adjust to her boarding school. Saturdays she would wait for me to arrive, and then on Sunday, I’d stay with her, and then all week… The teacher told me to stop coming. It was one regretful decision, but Priyanka turned out alright. She landed on her feet. When she was in seventh grade, we brought her back.”

Also read – Priyanka Chopra: ‘My childhood was full of love, laughter and family’

Looking back, Madhu Chopra believes that the experience of boarding school had a profound impact on Priyanka’s personality. “She became more confident. She did well in her studies. But emotionally, I think, she was becoming weaker. She couldn’t deal with her emotions very well. That was not such a good thing to happen, but academically she was good, all-round development was very good. So when we brought her home, she was literally taking care of me, her brother. She has become a very responsible young ten-year-old that I knew I would not be able to make because she was such a pampered baby.”