My father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family: Rathna Pathak Shah

Bollywood actress Ratna Pathak Shah is known to have views which are against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. She has however been seen in roles alongside actors such as Paresh Rawal and Anupam Kher who have views that align with the opposite end of the political spectrum. She addressed how she manages these differences while maintaining a working relationship in an interaction with Lallantop. “We all grew up at a time when two people can be friends, but can also have different ideologies. You're right in your place, I'm right in mine. There's dialogue, discussion, and even disagreement, but that doesn't cause a rift in interpersonal relations. This is a more recent trend. This is neither our country's culture nor I've seen anything like this before. I've been born in a home where my father was from an RSS family and my mom was from a Communist family. There was constant debate and arguments at our home, still we all lived together happily. I know that disagreement with an opinion doesn't mean dislike of a person. This is a very new phenomenon, that if you don't agree with me then you should be cancelled. This isn't our culture, at least it's not my culture, nor of anyone I know,” Rathna said. 

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She also talked about the polarising nature of political debates in recent times. She expressed concern about the impact such heated discussions have had on Indian culture at large. "They're making us Indians fight with each other like kids do in the school playground. How bullies ill-treat weaker kids. Do we want to be like them? No. I won't become one, nor will I let my kids become them either. Whoever I have an influence on, I'll tell them, ‘We cannot become bullies.’ We have to become cultured human beings. That's our culture. Everyone makes so much noise about yoga these days. What does ‘yog’ mean? To culture yourself continuously and spend an entire lifetime making yourself a better human every day, in every way. That's what BK Iyengar (founding yoga proponent) said. That's what I've learnt from our country. These petty quarrels? That's not my culture,” Rathna added.