Bollywood Actor Sonali Kulkarni Connects with MAI Mothers

Acclaimed Bollywood actor, writer, and mother Sonali Kulkarni joined the Marathi Aai Initiative (MAI) for a live virtual conversation with more than 100 mothers from across the United States on June 27, 2026. Participants joined the session from multiple time zones, with the event hosted from Fremont, California.

The discussion, which is now available on MAI TV on YouTube, was described by participants as a “rare experience.” According to a statement from MAI, Kulkarni remained fully engaged throughout the session, answered every question, and created an open and thoughtful environment that encouraged candid conversation.

The discussion focused on issues familiar to many parents, including raising grounded children, navigating social media, maintaining mental and physical well-being, and recognizing the lessons children teach their parents. Attendees said Kulkarni’s reflections resonated because she spoke not only as a public figure but also as a fellow mother.

One of the session’s most memorable moments came when Kulkarni spoke about her daughter, Kaveri.

“Majhya hatat aleli Kaveri hi product nahi ahe, manus ahe.” (Kaveri is not a product I am leading, but a person of her own caliber and opinions, whom I am raising). She added, “I am not the most important person in her life… (and I need not be).”

Describing herself as “a normal mother,” Kulkarni said her greatest inspiration is her own mother. She recalled how her mother operated a small home-based daycare to help support the family while continuing to provide unwavering love and attention to her daughter.

“I wonder how she could make me feel so comfortable and secure,” Kulkarni said, reflecting on how her mother cared deeply for the children in her daycare while never allowing her affection and commitment toward her own daughter to diminish.

Sayli Natu, co-Founder of MAI, said: “Sonali Tai brought honesty into the room, very precious coming from a public figure of her stature, yet it felt easy and natural speaking with her. When I first spoke to her about MAI, she immediately expressed her desire to connect with our community, and that spirit carried through every moment of the session. What the MAI mothers experienced that evening was a conversation between them and a grounded, wise, and warm fellow mother. We are sincerely thankful for Sonali Tai’s time and her brilliant thoughts that left us wanting more.”

Kshitija Karmarkar, co-Founder of MAI, added, “MAI members felt at home that day. Sonali Tai’s openness and generosity of spirit, and her willingness to share without reservation, made the evening something we will carry with us for a long time. It was an honoring of motherhood, of lived experience, and a reminder that we are not solitary in this journey. We sincerely thank her for choosing to spend her time with us.”

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