I inherited flair for dramatics from my mom: Kirron Kher

Kirron Kher lost her mother Diljit Thakar Singh recently. She remembers Singh as a vibrant and spirited woman of many talents and says she has inherited her mother's taste in clothes, jewellery and flair for dramatics.

Singh died in Chandigarh June 25. She was 84.

'She died of a cardiac arrest. The last time I spoke to her in Chandigarh was on June 18 when it was her birthday,' Kirron told IANS.

'I wish I was with her... but no regrets. My mother wouldn't have liked it. She was a vibrant woman of many talents. She was a painter. My brother, who passed away suddenly five years ago, inherited her talent for painting. My younger sister Kanwal inherited my mother's dexterity at the game of badminton. And I got my mother's flair for dramatics.'

If Kirron wanted she could have been a badminton champ.

'But that mantle was passed to my sister. Do you know, my mother and sister played badminton together at a state level tournament when my sister was 11? My mother was excellent at everything she did. She was a perfectionist, and not one of those parents who think their children are the best. If I wore slippers to go out, she'd reprimand me and wonder why I wasn't wearing high heels.

'She was a very elegant dresser. At 5 feet 7 inches, she had the height to look royal in everything she wore. She had the most exquisite sari and jewellery collection. I think I've inherited her taste in clothes and jewellery.'

Kirron's mother was also a connossieur of cinema and Urdu poetry.

'And I'm not talking about just Indian cinema. She was interested in world cinema. She ordered journals on world cinema at home in Chandigarh. And she didn't miss a single film. We had a maid who looked after us three children. Every weekend my mother and maid would go for films,' she said.

Kirron's mother played a small part in recent film 'Mummyji'.

'It wasn't really a part. The director Pammi Somal wanted my parents to walk through a shot, which they did...there was no acting involved,' said the actress who earned rave reviews for her performance in critically acclaimed movies 'Sardari Begum' and 'Khamosh Pani'.

'My mother was with me when my son Sikandar was born. She was the first one after me to hold my son. My mother was always at the forefront of anything she did. A friend of mine said she must be as spirited in afterlife as she was in this life.I don't doubt that,' said Kirron who featured in the recently released film 'Kambakkht Ishq'.