Raashii Khanna on Arundhati Roy's memoir: 'Love and hurt can coexist'

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Raashii Khanna on Arundhati Roy's memoir: 'Love and hurt can coexist'

Synopsis

Raashii Khanna turned to Instagram to reflect on Arundhati Roy's memoir about her relationship with her mother Mary Roy — a feminist icon whose fierce spirit also caused deep personal pain. Khanna's post, layered and literary, is a rare moment of genuine emotional engagement from a Bollywood star, and it arrives just as she gears up for 'Mauja Hi Mauja' alongside Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan.

Key Takeaways

Raashii Khanna posted a detailed reflection on Arundhati Roy's memoir 'Mother Mary Comes to Me' on Instagram on 3 November .
She highlighted how the memoir portrays Mary Roy as both a formidable feminist and a source of emotional pain to those closest to her.
Khanna praised Roy's 'startling honesty' in neither diminishing her mother's achievements nor concealing the emotional damage their relationship involved.
The actress described the memoir as a portrait of 'motherhood, memory, rage and resilience.' Khanna will next be seen in 'Mauja Hi Mauja' , co-starring Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan .

Actress Raashii Khanna has opened up about the emotional complexities of mother-daughter relationships, drawing on her reading of Arundhati Roy's memoir 'Mother Mary Comes to Me'. In an Instagram post on 3 November, Khanna praised Roy's unflinching account of her bond with her mother, Mary Roy, calling it an extraordinary portrait of contradictions — love and hurt, admiration and pain — residing within the same relationship.

What Caught Raashii Khanna's Attention

Khanna's post centred on how Arundhati Roy portrays her mother as a towering feminist figure who challenged societal norms and forged her own identity — yet whose fierce, uncontained personality also left emotional wounds on those closest to her. The actress highlighted that Roy's memoir neither glosses over Mary Roy's achievements nor conceals the personal damage their relationship entailed.

'There is something extraordinary about 'Mother Mary Comes to Me': the way Arundhati Roy holds the contradictions of a woman who could be both a force of nature and a source of deep hurt,' Khanna wrote in her post.

Key Themes the Actress Highlighted

Khanna elaborated at length on what she described as the memoir's greatest achievement — its willingness to make room for a woman to be simultaneously a revolutionary and a deeply flawed mother. She noted that Roy's account explores what it means to love someone who has caused pain, to acknowledge their humanity without dismissing one's own hurt.

'Mary Roy was a formidable feminist who challenged the world and carved out a place for herself, yet the same fierce, uncontained spirit could wound those closest to her. Arundhati writes of her with a startling honesty that neither diminishes her mother's achievements nor conceals the wreckage left behind. What emerges is an inheritance of extraordinary complexity: a daughter shaped by the very person she has struggled to understand, carrying both her mother's fire and the scars of its burning,' Khanna quoted in her post.

She further shared Roy's observation that 'tenderness and cruelty can inhabit the same person,' framing the memoir as a meditation on motherhood, memory, rage, and resilience.

The Full Passage Raashii Shared

Khanna's Instagram post also included Roy's reflection that the memoir 'asks what it means to love someone who has hurt you, to recognise their humanity without denying your own pain.' She called it 'a portrait of motherhood, memory, rage and resilience, and of how the private lives behind public triumphs are rarely as simple as the world imagines.' Along with her written thoughts, Khanna shared a series of photographs of herself reading the book.

What's Next for Raashii Khanna

On the professional front, Khanna will next appear in the upcoming film 'Mauja Hi Mauja', which also stars Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan. The film is among the more anticipated releases featuring the actress, who has steadily expanded her presence in Hindi cinema. Her literary engagement on social media, meanwhile, has drawn attention for its depth and sincerity — a contrast to more routine promotional content from film personalities.

Point of View

With its charged feminist and familial politics, is not incidental. It is worth noting what Khanna does not do: she does not make it about herself, nor does she use the literary content as personal branding. That restraint, rare in the attention economy, is arguably the most interesting thing about the post.
NationPress
3 Nov 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

What memoir did Raashii Khanna comment on?
Raashii Khanna commented on Arundhati Roy's memoir 'Mother Mary Comes to Me', which chronicles Roy's relationship with her mother Mary Roy, a prominent feminist and social activist.
What did Raashii Khanna say about the memoir?
Khanna praised the memoir for its 'startling honesty' in portraying Mary Roy as both a formidable feminist force and a source of emotional pain. She highlighted the book's central argument that tenderness and cruelty can inhabit the same person, and that a daughter can love and be hurt by the same woman.
Who is Mary Roy and why is she significant?
Mary Roy was a pioneering feminist who challenged societal norms and carved out a distinctive identity for herself, according to Raashii Khanna's post referencing the memoir. She is the mother of author Arundhati Roy, and the memoir explores the complex emotional legacy she left behind.
What is Raashii Khanna's next film?
Raashii Khanna will next be seen in 'Mauja Hi Mauja', an upcoming film that also stars Akshay Kumar and Vidya Balan.
Where did Raashii Khanna share her thoughts on the memoir?
Raashii Khanna shared her reflections on the memoir through a detailed post on Instagram, accompanied by a series of photographs of herself reading the book.
Nation Press
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