In a candid conversation, the actress shared that one thing she wishes she had thanked her father for sooner is something she says with a laugh. “I should have thanked him for being so handsome. Only a handsome father can have a beautiful, genetically blessed daughter. I’m genuinely grateful for his genes and for passing on those good looks to me,” she says.
Talking about the values she has inherited from him, Chaitali reveals that she deeply admires his ability to let go of things. “If someone is rude to us or doesn’t speak to our family, he simply says, ‘It’s okay. That’s just the way they are.’ He never carries anger or resentment. I really hope I can learn that from him because I tend to hold grudges, whereas he believes in living peacefully and moving on.”
However, it was only as an adult that she truly understood the magnitude of her father’s sacrifices. Her father worked on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and would stay away from the family for months at a stretch. “As a child, all I knew was that my father wasn’t around for six months at a time. But when I visited the cruise ship and saw his tiny room and the kind of life he lived, I finally understood his sacrifices. Every comfort I have today has come from years of his hard work and staying away from his family.”
What makes her proudest is that her father is entirely self-made. “He was once criticised for wanting to work in films as a sound technician and director. But after getting married and having a child, he chose responsibility and built a new career on a cruise ship in America. He worked tirelessly and gave us the best life possible.”
If she had to send him a message this Father’s Day, it would be simple yet deeply emotional. “He always thinks I love my mother or my grandmother more than him, but that’s not true. There is no one in this world I love as much as my father, and no one can ever replace his place in my heart.”
