Bollywood actor Sarika once spoke candidly about her arduous path to fame and how she had to start her life. The ex-wife of actor Kamal Haasan in an old interview with Simi Garewal, discussed leaving her home with little to no money. Sarika recounted beginning over in her life and profession at the age of 21.
“I just did something that was honestly good for me and my mother. It had to be done. It comes after a lot….you don’t make such decisions overnight,” Sarika told Simi in the interview. Apparently, the seasoned actor drove away from home with a minimal amount of Rs 60.
"It was very hard—it was not just about where the next meal was going to come from, I just kept up with my friends—went to their house, had baths at their home, and at night, I slept in my car," the actor recounted the time.
“When you really have the need to do something, the strength just comes. When it happens, you’re not trying to show whether you have strength or not, you go through it—you just go through. There’s no time to analyse the process. I didn’t tell anybody,” she added.
Kamal Haasan, who was also there for the interview, interrupted and said that he only learned about her conditions much later.
“You would be shocked, you see her as a star on the sets, and very few people knew where she lived. When I became close to her, I was shocked to see, there was a little bit of sympathy and admiration. She didn’t want that sympathy. She found it very insulting when someone like me asked if she needed help. She would get upset, because any financial involvement would make it vulgar. It was pride, and I admired her for it,” Kamal Haasan said.
Both actors discussed their romantic relationship during the same interview. At the time that Kamal Haasan met Sarika, he was married to Vani Ganapathy.
“I realised I was in love…when things were really bad and there was so much apprehension. I am sure according to one section of society, we are the bad guys. Being the other woman is a bad thing to be, because everyone’s insults seem valid,” Sarika said.
In 2004, Kamal Haasan and Sarika split up. Shruti Haasan and Aksharaa Haasan are their two daughters.