No to parenthood 'OUR SHOCKING TV CONFESSION'

Creative couple Ankita and Calvin reveal why they're boxing on without kids

- Hayley McLarin

The project was their baby and potentially the only baby this couple is likely to have - if you don't count their dog Maple!

Aucklanders Ankita Singh and Calvin Sang have created an episode for the TVNZ+ Motherhood Anthology series. It examines a woman's wish to not have children and potentially disappoint her mother, choosing instead to pursue a mixed martial arts (MMA) boxing career.

Give Me Babies was written by Ankita, 28, and directed by her partner Calvin, 29, after a walk with Maple during Covid lockdowns. TVNZ had called for pitch ideas and the pair felt inspired to explain their stance on parenthood from a cultural perspective.

"We were thinking about ways to combine our Chinese and Indian cultures, and thought we could make something 'Chindian"," says Ankita. "In a lot of South-Asian cultures, there is that pressure for daughters to have kids. I've never wanted children.

"Luckily for me, my parents are super-chill. My mum Vandna is like, 'Live your life because kids will ruin your life.

Just get everything out of your system before you have kids.' I think she's hoping... I think she wants grandkids, but it's not as intense as the pressure in the episode."