Irrfan: “Parenting Is The Toughest  Role Of My Life”

Irrfan’s younger son Ayan wrote  a letter to the media inviting them for the trailer launch of Madaari.

Says Irrfan proudly, “It was my marketing team’s idea . We wrote something for him . But when my son Ayan read what we had in mind he scrapped the entire content and re-wrote the letter himself.Today’s kids know their minds and how to exercise their options.”

So do Irrfan’s sons want to follow in their father’ footsteps? “I am not putting any kind of filial pressure on my children . They can be actors if they like. Or they can choose whichever career they want. But today’s kids either want to be a rock star like Justin Bieber or they want to be star-footballers.You see,children today are exposed to international artistes . They all listen to international music and imbibe a kind of cosmopolitanism in their attitude from very young which is very hard for a parent to understand, let alone control.”

The super-talented Irrfan Khan says the biggest challenge he faces is to bring up his two sons Babil and Ayan with the correct values.

“But the problem is, how do we define what is correct for our children? Morality has transformed beyond recognition from the time we were growing up. Today’s kids are exposed to the entire world through the internet,”Irrfan voices the concern  of all parents.

Reasons the actor, “To stop the free and unstopped flow of information and knowledge is futile and unhealthy specially in a city like Mumbai. I’ve  noticed parents in the smaller cities like Jaipur are able to regiment and modulate their children’s life, provide a filter to their information . But I can’t do that.”

Rather than stop his sons from gaining access to information Irrfan has given them the freedom to pick and choose what they would like to. “The best I can do is to let them know what I feel is the right.The rest is up to them.Creative minds are constantly inquisitive. I can’t stop my sons for searching, asking, and seeking answers. It’s up to them to decide to use how much of what they imbibe.”