MUMBAI: Most Men, says actress Madirakshi Mundle, take care of the family, while according lower priority their needs. The actress, who plays the role of Shaina in Mrinal Abhigyan Jha Productions’ Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, adds many men perhaps even keep their worries to themselves.

“Men take care of their families, their wishes, their desires, their wants, while often deprioritizing their own wishes, desires and wants. When the items from their families wishlist goes straight to checkout, theirs still remain in the wishlist day after day,” she says.

She adds, “It is since the early days that men are deemed as the sole bread-earner of a family. They endure the hardships, they strive to make the ends meet, and most often do it silently. I think for a man, they have to build a life. For themselves, for family. And building a life takes effort, hard work and focus over a very long period of time. Maybe men are not as expressive. I saw my father build for his life growing up. He never allowed any wish of mine to go unfulfilled. Surely that can’t be easy all the time. Kids don’t necessarily understand these things growing up. So it is certainly wisdom in hindsight.”

Talking about her life, she says, “It is perhaps easy to state this is ensuring that you get your priorities right. I consider it a tremendous good fortune to be born to my parents. My father did a lot to ensure I had the best childhood memories growing up. Now that I am working, I ensure that he is able to have these happy moments for himself on occasions that are personally special to him. I hope at-least this way if there are things he did not do when I was growing up, they are somewhat looked after.”

However, she adds that in today’s world, both men and women are equal when it comes to shouldering responsibilities. “I think the outlook depends from family to family. What about families who do not have a son and only daughters? Boys might be expected to take care of the families, but women are certainly, no less, doing so. I know of examples from close family where this is the case. And I do not mean this as an exception. In any case, when it comes to parents, isn’t it only natural to care for them when they’ve raised you into adulthood. What is fair I think is both, whether son or daughter fulfil their part of the unspoken bargain. Taking care of parents is life. You wouldn’t be here but for them,” she says.