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Pavitra Rishta actress Usha Nadkarni recalls abusive childhood, saying her father attacked her with a koita and once beat her brother unconscious.
Veteran actress Usha Nadkarni, best known for Pavitra Rishta, has opened up about her difficult childhood, recalling harrowing incidents with her abusive father.
Veteran actor Usha Nadkarni, beloved for her unforgettable portrayal of Savita Deshmukh in Pavitra Rishta, has opened up about her childhood in Mumbai, where discipline ruled the household and fear often overshadowed affection. Appearing on Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa’s podcast, the 79-year-old spoke candidly about her parents—her mother, a teacher, and her father, an Air Force officer—while recalling incidents that shaped her early life.
“They were very strict,” she began, before sharing how her father’s temper often escalated into physical violence. “He was a very violent man, we were terrified of him. One of us would be beaten up, and the other two would run. Once, my brother was being beaten up for some reason, and I tried to stop him. He attacked me with a koita (machete). You know, one of those knives with a curved edge? I got injured on my arm, and I had a play the next day. I went to perform with the injury.”
She also remembered another harrowing moment when her brother was beaten so badly that he lost consciousness. “He once beat my brother unconscious,” Usha said, adding that her father would often try to soften the blow of his violent outbursts with small gestures of affection. “He would bring us special ice cream after a particularly bad beating,” she shared in an earlier interview with Pinkvilla.
Her father’s fury could be triggered by even the smallest mistakes. “If he found the newspaper to be crumpled or crooked in any way, he would lose his temper and tear it up. If he saw that our schoolbooks weren’t kept in neat rows, he would tear them up in anger. My mother would tell him that he’d only have to buy new ones, so he shouldn’t tear them,” she recalled.
Both parents, Usha revealed, were against her desire to pursue acting. When she first expressed interest in becoming an actor, her mother reacted harshly. “When I told her, she threw all my clothes out into the street and kicked me out of the house,” Usha said. For a week, she stayed with a friend until her father came to bring her back home.
Even then, the fear remained deeply ingrained in her. She recounted an instance when friends came unannounced to her house to ask permission for her to accompany them on a picnic. “I was so terrified of him that I ran away and hid,” she said.
Today, Usha Nadkarni lives alone in Mumbai. Her brother, who she described as her “biggest support,” passed away earlier this year, leaving a void in her life. Despite the painful memories of her childhood, Usha’s journey stands as a testament to her resilience. From surviving a turbulent home to becoming one of television’s most respected actors, her story is as layered as the characters she has brought to life on screen.
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun…Read More
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always on the hun… Read More
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