In 2012, as his debut film Ishaqzaade was poised for release, newbie Arjun Kapoor was asked a question most debutants never have to face – how he had dealt with his father’s second marriage to Sridevi. And to his credit, he answered it with honesty. “Back then, when we were kids, it was difficult. But what can you do? How long will you complain? You have to accept what is, take it on your chin, and move on.” More recently, quizzed about his equation with his step-sisters, Janhvi and Khushi, he shrugged, “We don’t really meet and spend time together so it doesn’t really exist.” With searing maturity he declared that the dynamics would also be complicated. “It will never be the normal ‘We Are Family’ concept. It doesn’t end like films do. You’ll never live happily ever after but life goes on. I’m respectful towards her because she is my father’s wife. She will always remain that. My father is very happy with her and for me that is important.”

It has taken time for this level of civility to be achieved. Back when Arjun was a child, his parents, Mona and Boney Kapoor’s 13-year-old marriage had been turned upside down when Sridevi entered his father’s life. As Mona, who succumbed to cancer in 2012, told it, “He (Boney) was 10 years older to me. I was 19 when I married him. So I literally grew up with him… It came as a shock when I realised that my husband was in love with somebody else... There was nothing left in the relationship to give it a chance because Sridevi was already with a child.”

While the heartbroken Mona preferred to nurse her shattered heart in private, the same could not be said of her mother, the fierce, feisty producer, Sattee Shourie. It was New Year’s Eve, 1996. Boney Kapoor’s extramarital affair with Sridevi was at its peak. The couple was spotted enjoying coffee together at a five-star hotel in Juhu. And Sattee found she simply could not ignore this cosy scene, as her son-in-law sat chatting with his new woman in public…

She apparently walked up to Boney and Sridevi and a showdown ensued. Her anger and hurt poured out, as matters turned uglier than expected. It is said that the attack against Sridevi, already pregnant with her first child, turned physical, even as others intervened and managed to calm down the enraged Sattee. It was a difficult time for all concerned, and the outbursts were unfortunately only to be expected.

Old-timers will remember the time an insecure and enraged Sridevi had created a huge scene outside their residence because Boney had taken Mona and his kids Arjun and Anshula out for a picnic.

The couple married in 1996, and were blessed with two daughters, Janhnvi, who makes her debut with Karan Johar’s Dhadak, and Khushi. As Arjun put it, life goes on