This Mother’s Day, Archana Puran Singh opened her heart out about the emotional highs and lows of motherhood, balancing a demanding acting career with raising her sons, Aaryamann Sethi and Ayushmaan Sethi. In a candid conversation with mid-day, the actress reflected on mom guilt, parenting rebellious teenagers, and navigating the early years of motherhood largely on her own while husband Parmeet Sethi was often unavailable.
Speaking about the moments that still haunt her as a mother, Archana admitted that balancing shoots and motherhood often left her emotionally shattered. Recalling one particularly painful memory, she shared, “When I was shooting and unable to attend my younger son Ayushmaan’s sixth birthday party and he said: ‘But mom you’ll be able to come at least for a little while na?’ That day broke my heart even though I organised every little bit of his party before I went for the shoot.”
Archana Puran Singh on missing out on her son`s unwell days
She also remembered another heartbreaking moment involving her elder son. “When my older one, Aaryamann was 4 years old and very unwell, and I had a shoot to go to… the look he gave me when I was leaving him and the way he said ‘mamma don’t go’! These are the moments that till today fill me with guilt and sorrow,” she confessed.
Despite her sons constantly reassuring her now, the memories continue to stay with her. “Today both my sons take great pains to console me and tell me that we are fine mom, these things have not had a lasting impact on us! But they have had a lasting impact on ME for sure!” she said, adding that most working mothers would identify with such feelings.
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Archana also revealed how motherhood changed the way she approached acting projects. “Once I became a mother I was conscious of what my children would see on screen while they were growing up. So I gravitated to more sober roles, and of course continued to do comedy roles which they enjoyed watching as kids,” she explained.
Interestingly, one of her film choices was directly inspired by her son’s interests. “I did the film Masti where I played a character who loves WWE only because my son Aaryamann was a WWE fan!” she revealed. Even today, she said, her sons’ opinions continue to influence her decisions. “Any role I am offered I usually check to see how exciting it sounds to both my sons and usually that influences my choice too.”
Archana Puran Singh recalls raising her teenage boys
Opening up about raising teenage boys, the actress admitted that adolescence came with its own set of struggles. “I had all the possible issues a parent can have with teenage sons! From indiscipline and insubordination to rebelliousness and outright disregard for parental authority… I’ve faced all the different phases of adolescence in teenagers,” she said candidly.
However, Archana believes her own rebellious teenage years helped her better understand her sons. “I never allowed myself to forget how rebellious I myself was as a teenager. I would thus find a way to correlate my own experiences and emotions as a teenager with those of my teenage sons,” she explained. While her empathetic parenting style sometimes made disciplining difficult, she feels it paid off in the long run. “Eventually they’ve both turned out to be kind empathetic adults themselves, so I guess my method worked well enough!!” she added.
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The actress also reflected on managing motherhood when Parmeet was less involved during the boys’ early years. “When he was unable to assist me with the children in the early years I used to do everything alone or I would ask help from my Mom who had come to stay with us,” she shared.
Looking back, Archana admitted she wishes she had communicated her needs more clearly. “I never asked him to step up and be more proactive with the kids. Today I would probably be less accepting of his lack of involvement, and this is something I would advise every young wife/mother!” she said.
Apart from emotional moments, the actress also fondly recalled the sweet and hilarious surprises her sons have planned over the years. “Aary has composed a full song with my voice and dialogues in it and Ayush has made a beautiful video of my special moments. This was a labour of love and time so I really was so touched by it,” she said.
At the same time, the boys are also known for their elaborate pranks on their parents. “They have pranked Parmeet and me to the extent that I’ve almost gone into shock hahahaha! These pranks are on our YouTube vlogs and they are really funny,” she shared.
Summing up their family dynamic, Archana added, “Both of them expend a lot of their youthful energy on either giving us a surprise that makes us very happy, like a Mother’s Day or anniversary surprise gift, or something that jolts both Parmeet and me like a prank or a practical joke!”
