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The character played by Madhavan in Three Idiots, which shows how he wanted to pursue photography as a career but opted to be an engineer as his parents wanted him to be one, is something many youngsters can relate to. Many teens today share how they find it hard to choose between chasing their dreams and fulfilling their parents’ wishes while choosing their professions.
Ekta Singh, a 19-year-old dental student, who always wanted to be an IAS officer, went into medicine as her dad wanted a doctor in the family. “Seeing his friends’ daughters growing up and becoming doctors, he always wanted me to be one. Even though I was asked to choose subjects for Class 12, it was already decided that I would take up science and had no choice but to pursue dentistry. Back then I couldn’t muster enough courage to put forward my career choice, but now I have made up my mind. After finishing my internship, I am planning to prepare for the civil services, which I always wanted to do,” she adds.
Unlike Ekta, there are others who initially didn’t defy their parents on the professional front, but later went on to do what they were passionate about. Parantap Singh, who’s now pursuing a filmmaking course from FTII, Pune, initially joined an engineering college due to parental pressure. “In my family, boys are always encouraged to be engineers and there was no room for any argument. But I decided to do really badly in my exams. So I flunked twice in my first semester and that very year I got a call from the film school. My dad had no choice but to send me there,” he shares.
But some prefer to go with the flow to save themselves from the “emotional atyachar”. Shobhit Sujay, who is studying law, always wanted to be a writer but couldn’t as he had to follow his family legacy and be an advocate. “It would have been a crime had I told my family that I want to write and not pursue law. Even my grandfather and his dad were lawyers. So, I thought it better to join this field. Now, I often keep writing blogs and I’m hoping to take up freelance writing to keep my passion alive,” he adds.
Rohit Dua, who is a football player as his dad was one, says pursing the same career as his dad shaped his future well. “Ever since I was young I was trained to be a football player and I enjoyed it too and it soon became my aim to excel in this field. Besides this, I am pursuing psychology as I always wanted to study the subject and my parents respected my decision,” he sums up.

Swati Vishnoi
The Asian Age