BENGALURU: It’s a special Mother’s Day for fashion designer Aviva Bidapa this year. Post her engagement to actor Abishek Ambareesh in early December ’22, this Sunday will start with wishing her mother and theatre person Judith Bidapa and mother-in-law and Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambareesh.
It surely is different, being newly engaged and entering a new family, but Aviva says she has always admired the veteran actor. “I share a great relationship with her. She is really wonderful and welcoming. In fact, I get the same vibe with her as with my own mother. So that’s something that I like and I hope our relationship grows once I officially become a family member. I haven’t formally entered the house yet,” says Aviva.
We have seen Sumalatha juggling different on and off-screen characters with the same ease with which she glided through her acting and political careers. And in her personal life too, she plays her roles comfortably. “She’s so supportive of Abishek and takes care of him and guides him,” says the fashion designer, who is prepping for her wedding, the date of which will be announced soon.
While she is still building her relationship with her new mother-in-law, her bond with her mother has evolved over time. “When I was younger, she was a parent. As I got older, it’s actually quite beautiful how she became my friend. Throughout my adolescence, she was super nurturing. In my teens, she was a teacher. When I hit adulthood, we slowly became friends. Now, she’s my go-to person. I call her for pretty much everything,” says Aviva, who plans to take her ‘mummy’ out for lunch on Mother’s Day.
Like any other teenager, Aviva too has her own share of insecurities. But it was her mother who gave her the confidence to face the world. “When I hit adulthood, people started commenting on my looks. From mom, I learnt how no superficial comment should affect me. Her often-advice to me was, ‘You’re perfect. God made you the way he intended and he doesn’t make mistakes’. She instilled values in me that basically negated any kind of superficial insecurities,” she emphasises.
However, can any mother-daughter relationship be complete without their share of arguments? Aviva reveals between her mother and her, most of the fights were about cleaning the house. “She is a clean freak and expects us to be the same. That’s genuinely our biggest fight. She spends a lot of time cleaning. Now, I have become like her. Even when I am at a friend’s place, and things are not organised, I have the urge to clean it up. I am slowly turning into her,” says Aviva, with a giggle.