Veteran actors Seema Pahwa and her husband Manoj Pahwa have opened up about their parenting philosophy and nearly four decades of marriage, ahead of the release of their upcoming web series Perfect Family, which premieres on Sony LIV on 26 June. The real-life couple plays the heads of a family navigating interpersonal conflicts, generational gaps, and the weight of appearing perfect.

The Pahwas on Raising Children

Seema said the couple never followed a fixed parenting blueprint. 'We never decided how we want to raise our kids. There was an unsaid understanding between Manoj and I, on giving our children their privacy and space. We just decided to be the support they needed in decisions of career, marriage and any important aspect of life,' she said.

The approach, she emphasised, was rooted in trust rather than control — a philosophy that stands in contrast to the hyper-managed parenting styles often seen in public discourse today.

Manoj Pahwa: 'Remove the Burden of Parenting'

Manoj offered a candid critique of how parents often approach child-rearing. 'We should remove the burden of parenting from us. As parents, we need to work on ourselves to be better human beings than teaching the kids. The kids learn from what they see and the environment they grow up in,' he said.

He pointed to a fundamental contradiction that he believes confuses children. 'The main problem of parenting is what we preach to our kids and what our actions are. The sheer contradiction in our words and actions confuses the kids in most cases. Our show, Perfect Family, accurately talks about this,' Manoj added.

He further noted: 'We all are products of dysfunctional families, and this series shows the need to be a good human before being a parent.'

On the Myth of the Perfect Family

Seema reflected on the pressure that comes with labelling anything 'perfect'. 'The moment a tag is put to anything, it puts a lot of pressure on us. There is no formula for making a family perfect. We can work on ourselves and try to make a better family. However, there is no surety,' she said.

The observation ties directly into the series' central theme — that the pursuit of an idealised family image can itself become a source of conflict and dysfunction.

How Fatherhood Has Evolved Across Generations

Having portrayed Somnath Karkaria, a traditional father figure in the series, Manoj reflected on how the father-child dynamic has shifted. 'Fathers of today's generation have started listening to their kids while giving them enough space. In our generation we hardly spoke to our fathers, but now it's changed, and it's changed for good,' he said.

He also acknowledged a quality from older-generation fathers worth preserving: 'Fathers knew everything about their kids, who the friends are, and who they are hanging with. Unfortunately, with the fast-paced life today they don't have so much time to give.'

About Perfect Family

Created by Palak Bhambri and directed by Sachin Pathak, Perfect Family also features Neha Dhupia, Girija Oak Godbole, Gulshan Devaiah, and Kaveri Seth. The series streams exclusively on Sony LIV from 26 June. With two of India's most respected character actors headlining a story about family dysfunction, the show arrives at a moment when conversations around mental health, parenting, and generational trauma are gaining mainstream traction.