Moushumi Chatterjee made her acting debut as a child artist in the Bengali film Girl Girl in 1967 and went on to become one of the most recognised actors of her generation. Around the same time, she got married at the age of 15 to Jayanta Mukherjee, the son of legendary composer-singer Hemant Kumar.
The actor welcomed her first child, daughter Payal, at the age of 17. She later became a mother for the second time when her daughter Megha Mukherjee was born in 1991.
Decades after entering marriage and motherhood at such a young age, Moushumi has now shared a more progressive perspective on relationships. The actor revealed the advice she has given her daughter about dating and marriage. “I tell my daughter, ‘You can have a boyfriend, but you don’t have to marry that person,'” she said in a conversation with Nayandeep Rakshit at the Jagran Film Festival 2026.
Moushumi also urged the women in the audience to make themselves a priority. “You girls, be careful today. Be a little selfish and self-centered because the times have changed now. It’s written in Gita as well, ‘Change is the law of the world [Change is the only constant]’,” she said.
The actor added, “Change has happened now, and we have come forward as compared to older times. We teach our daughters to take care of their in-laws’ house, but we don’t teach our sons. We think that the woman has to do chores; it’s not a man’s job. Today, the younger generation is so stressed. They aren’t able to enjoy their life. They don’t have time for themselves.”
Moushumi also encouraged everyone to learn from their mistakes and avoid repeating them. “Don’t do anything to prove to others. I have turned 70 now. Do what you like, but don’t go overboard. If you make a mistake once, don’t repeat it. I have also made mistakes in my life. But once I knew it was not done, I never repeated it. We are human beings; we have a conscience, but we don’t analyse it,” she concluded.
Moushumi Chatterjee’s elder daughter Payal died in 2019 after battling diabetes for several years. She had spent nearly two years in a coma before her death.