The Glamour industry has that one name- Malaika Arora. Being a model who started with this glamorous profession at such a young age, balancing college with professional commitments. Recently, Malaika opened up about her school days to ‘Curly Tales’ about which of her college performances was bad that even the call from the authorities had to land on her mother, Joyce Polycarp’s doorstep.
Malaika revealed that she had passed two years in Jai Hind College when she jumped into modeling. “It was becoming very tough,” she recalls, as her attendance went haywire. Her college used to get worried and informed her mother about her errant attendance, which Malaika admits was because of her commitments for modeling shows and ads. She said that soon enough, work on commercials and shows put an insatiable desire inside her to be independent.
When asked if she did it for fame or independence, Malaika candidly replied, “I wanted to be independent. I needed to do something that gave me value.” She said that financial stability was not the reason since she was not supposed to support her household, but she wanted to help out and make life a little lighter for her mom. “I felt it was my duty as the older daughter,” she shared. In this case, despite doing her best, Malaika could do nothing but help her mother as much as possible in taking them up herself.
Through all her journey, Malaika has never loosened her tie-up with her mother. She reminisced discussing her childhood and the changing dynamics with her mother, recalling that in 2022 through an interview with ‘Grazia‘, her parents divorced when she was 11. She remained with her mother, as well as younger sister actress Amrita Arora. She described her childhood as “tumultuous,” a word she felt encapsulated the challenges they faced, but also acknowledged that difficult times often teach valuable life lessons. Through her mother’s strength, Malaika learned the importance of resilience and independence, qualities that shape her career.
This gave Malaika an understanding of life as it has many facets. It also made her decide to start working as early as possible and being self-supporting not only for herself but also for her family. This in spite of the hardships it brings, has always inspired Malaika to live because she is inspired by her mother’s perseverance.