Ignorance is bliss. I was ignorant of the stardom.
In the grand theater of inherited fame, two children of Indian cinema's most luminous stars were quietly raised in its wings rather than under its lights. Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor, now co-starring in the upcoming film Peddi, have spoken of childhoods shaped not by dynasty but by deliberate ordinariness — their parents, Chiranjeevi and the late Sridevi, choosing presence over prestige within their own homes. It is a reminder that the most consequential acts of the celebrated are often the ones no audience ever witnesses.
- Two of Bollywood and Telugu cinema's most prominent young stars have revealed they grew up almost entirely shielded from the magnitude of their parents' fame.
- The tension lies in what was withheld: Janhvi Kapoor describes herself as 'criminally unaware' of Sridevi's legendary status, while Ram Charan watched his father's celebrity only flicker into view on a television screen.
- Chiranjeevi returned from eighteen-hour shoot days to press his wife's feet and spend weekends with his children — the machinery of stardom left firmly at the door.
- Sridevi, who had worked since the age of four, stepped away from the industry so completely upon becoming a mother that she effectively erased that chapter from daily family life.
- Both actors now credit this deliberate insulation with freeing them from the crushing weight of expectation, allowing them to arrive at their own careers on their own terms.
- As Peddi prepares to release on June 4, their shared story lands as a quiet argument that the most enduring gift fame can offer a child is its own absence.
Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor grew up in households where stardom was, by design, a stranger. Their parents — Chiranjeevi and the late Sridevi — had built towering careers in Indian cinema, yet neither child fully understood their parents' stature until well into their later years. Speaking with Times Group Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar ahead of their co-starring sports drama Peddi, releasing June 4, both actors described childhoods that were deliberately, almost stubbornly, normal.
For Ram Charan, the defining image is not of a superstar father but of a present one. Chiranjeevi would return home after eighteen-hour shooting days and tend to his wife, spend weekends with his children, and leave the spectacle of fame entirely outside the front door. Ram Charan encountered his father's celebrity only when the television came on or crowds gathered outside. "Ignorance is bliss," he reflected, noting that he was never pushed toward the industry nor burdened by the weight of his lineage.
Janhvi's experience was shaped by her mother's particular resolve. Sridevi had been working since the age of four, eventually becoming one of Indian cinema's most iconic figures — but when she chose to step back from the industry, she did so completely. She was a private person by nature, and her transition into domestic life was total. Janhvi grew up knowing only this version of her mother: the one who had chosen family. It wasn't until adolescence, when Sridevi began gently encouraging her daughter's own creative interests, that Janhvi began to grasp the scale of what her mother had accomplished and then quietly set aside.
Both actors now see their parents' choices as the foundation of who they are. Raised without the pressure of expectation or the grooming of legacy, they were allowed to grow up as people before they became performers. The lesson they carry into their own public lives is the one their parents lived quietly at home: that a child's first inheritance should not be fame, but simply the freedom to be ordinary.
Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor grew up in homes where the word 'famous' barely registered. Their parents—Chiranjeevi and the late Sridevi—had built legendary careers in Indian cinema, yet inside the walls of their houses, stardom remained a foreign concept. In a conversation with Times Group Editor-in-Chief Navika Kumar, the two actors, now co-starring in the sports drama Peddi (releasing June 4), described childhoods so deliberately insulated from celebrity that they didn't fully grasp their parents' stature until they were much older.
Chiranjeevi and Sridevi had worked together on several films across their careers—Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Mosagadu, and SP Parasuram among them. Their children, however, knew nothing of this shared professional history. Ram Charan explained that he never framed his lineage as advantage or disadvantage. "Ignorance is bliss," he said. "I was ignorant of the stardom, the family. I just did what I wanted to do always. They've never pushed me to do anything." What struck him most was how completely his father left the machinery of fame outside the front door. Chiranjeevi would return home after eighteen-hour shooting days and press his wife's legs. He spent weekends with his children. He was present in the way most fathers aspire to be, not in the way movie stars typically are. Ram Charan saw his father's celebrity only when the television came on or when crowds gathered outside. At home, he was simply dad.
Janhvi's experience followed a similar arc, though shaped by her mother's particular temperament. Sridevi had begun working at four years old—a child actor who became a titan of Indian cinema. But when she chose to step away from the industry, she did so completely. She was, by nature, a private person, and her transition to domestic life was total. Janhvi grew up largely unaware of what her mother had accomplished. "I was criminally unaware," she said. She didn't know because Sridevi had, in some sense, erased that chapter herself. She had moved on from it entirely, concentrating instead on being a mother and a wife. Janhvi was exposed only to this version of her mother—the one who had chosen family over the spotlight.
It wasn't until Janhvi reached adolescence that Sridevi began to discuss her past work, and only then did the daughter begin to understand the magnitude of her mother's legacy. The realization came gradually, as Sridevi encouraged her to explore her own artistic and creative interests. In that moment, Janhvi grasped what her mother's career had meant, what the euphoria of that life had been. But by then, the foundation was already set. She had grown up knowing her mother as a person first, a legend second—if at all.
Both actors credited their parents' deliberate choices with shaping who they became. Neither felt the weight of expectation that often crushes children born into famous families. Neither was groomed for the industry or treated as an extension of their parents' brand. Instead, they were allowed to simply be—to discover their own interests, make their own choices, and eventually come to acting on their own terms. Now, as they navigate their own careers in the public eye, they carry with them the lesson their parents taught: that home is a sanctuary separate from fame, and that a child's first need is not to inherit a legacy but to grow up normal.
Citações Notáveis
I was ignorant of the stardom, the family. I just did what I wanted to do always. They've never pushed me to do anything.— Ram Charan
I was criminally unaware about everything that she had achieved and done. She wanted her transition to domestic life to be very complete.— Janhvi Kapoor, on her mother Sridevi
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
When you say your father never brought the stardom home, what did that actually look like day to day?
It meant he was just dad. He'd come back exhausted from eighteen-hour days and be present with us. He pressed my mother's legs. He spent weekends with us. The work stayed at work. We didn't grow up hearing about his films or his fame—we just grew up with a father who was there.
Did you ever feel like you were missing something by not knowing who your parents really were in the world?
No, because I didn't know what I was missing. Ignorance is bliss in that sense. I never looked at my background as an advantage or disadvantage. I just lived.
Janhvi, your mother was a child actor herself. Did that change how she approached raising you?
I think it made her more protective of a normal childhood. She'd worked since she was four. When she decided to step away, she wanted a complete transition. She was a shy person by nature, and she poured everything into being a mother and wife. That's all I knew of her.
When did you realize who she actually was?
As I got older, she started sharing her work with me. That's when I understood the magnitude of what she'd done, the euphoria of that life. But by then, I already knew her as a person first.
Do you think that foundation—growing up normal—has shaped how you approach your own fame now?
Absolutely. You learn what matters. It's not the stardom. It's the presence, the choices you make about where you put your energy. My parents taught me that by example.