As we celebrate Mother’s Day on May 9 this year, here’s a look at all those Bollywood actors who have embraced motherhood like true champions and carved a niche for themselves in the parenting world. Whether it’s Esha Deol writing a book about easy recipes for picky eaters or Neha Dhupia fighting for space to breastfeed in public, these on-screen divas are also fierce mothers in real life. These actors have distinct identities as mothers too ...
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Most hands-on mother - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: In November 2011, when one of India’s most famous global cultural exports gave birth to her daughter Aaradhya, she taught an army of new mothers to embrace their post-pregnancy bodies and their new parenting phase in their lives. Bachchan was criticised for her weight gain, but didn’t succumb to the pressure of being picture perfect or bouncing back into shape in a snap. In an exclusive interview as a new mother a few months since giving birth to Aaradhya, she said: “Life has become quieter, which is very nice; I am spending a lot of time with her and just enjoying being a family. I have learnt to manage my time better with work so that my family time isn’t compromised too much. I prefer to take her with me on travels when the commitments are not too tight. My mother accompanies me to help with Aaradhya, so I am blessed that way,” said Rai Bachchan over email.
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She famously takes her child along to her overseas work assignments. Getting ready for the Cannes red carpet along with her daughter in billowing gowns has become something of a staple. Also, when Gulf News tabloid asked her how she dealt with the volley of mean trolls about her post-pregnancy body, her response was spot on. “It isn’t surprising because in this industry it comes as standard when an actress becomes a mother the focus isn’t on her health, it’s how fast she lose her weight, I don’t worry about this; to me, my the well-being and the health of my family is more important than focusing on going back to my pre-pregnancy body in miracle time. It should not be taken to extremes.” She dubbed motherhood as one of her most fulfilling experiences in her life.
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Most chic new mom: Anushka Sharma: Here's full marks to this actress for making parenting look effortless and making a burp cloth look like a fashion accessory. Both Sharma and her cricketer husband Virat Kohli seems to have mastered the game of making parenting look easy. Their adorable posts about new parents makes you wonder if they also experience sleepless nights and dark circles like other mortals.
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Most glamorous mother - Kareena Kapoor Khan: If you thought Kareena Kapoor Khan, 39, made acting look effortless, then wait till you watch her in her mom avatar to two young boys. The ease with which she has transitioned from the most desirable and high-profile Bollywood star to a fashion-forward mother who rarely misses her gym workout is aspirational. She has also become the posterchild of being an ace multi-tasker. In a recent interview with Kapoor Khan, we asked her how she manages to do it all. Her response?
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“I fall, I falter and I get up,” said Kapoor Khan in an exclusive interview with Gulf News tabloid while promoting her film 'Angrezi Medium'. “I take it one day at a time. Every day is a journey and every day is a learning experience with your little one and your work. Every day I learn something new… I am a first time mother and I always tell myself that it’s OK even if I did something wrong. I am going to learn from my fall and from all my mistakes. I don’t have a blueprint plan on what’s going to happen in my life or career,” added Kapoor Khan. Her game-plan is superbly simple. “But I definitely know that I won’t sacrifice a lot of time away from Taimur. I am happy to do just one or two films in a year. I am going to try and select the best movie that I get offered. That’s all there is to it,” said Kapoor Khan. She
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The cool mother - Kajol: Bollywood actress Kajol who is a mother to daughter Nysa, 15, and son Yug, 10, isn’t a believer of helicopter parenting. In an interview when she was discussing her role of playing an overbearing mother in her film ‘Helicopter Eela’, she spoke about what kind of a mother she’s to her two grown-up kids. “I am more like a drone parent and a partial helicopter parent … I maintain my distance from my children and I don’t make as much noise as a helicopter. But just like a drone, I can fire missiles and get it over and done with,” said Kajol with a laugh. It’s no secret that she scaled back on work considerably once she embraced motherhood.
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The unconventional mother - Sushmita Sen: At 25 when most women focus on their career, the former Miss Universe and Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen took the unconventional route and adopted a baby girl, Renee. She wasn’t married, but that didn’t stop her from her chosen path. Ten years later, she adopted another girl, Alisha, and continues to give us single mom goals. In an interview with Gulf News tabloid, she called her children “the biggest leveller in life, after God”.
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“There comes a time when the roles you are looking at and what the other actresses are doing to stay in the game makes you realise that it’s a factory outlet where how many films in a year you do matters. I realised I was giving up six months of my life waiting for the hero to arrive on the sets, while my children were waiting for me at home. I couldn’t do that. That is not a good investment of my time. I choose what to invest in. I decided that I did not want to miss out on their first step or their first day of school,” said Sen during that interview.
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Literary mother - Esha Deol: Esha Deol has two young daughters — Radhya and Miraya — under the age of three and has bottled up her experiences as a new mother in her debut book, ‘Amma Mia’. The parenting guide — which is ideal for mothers who have children who are picky eaters — is filled with advice, tips, stories and food recipes for toddlers. “Through the book, I want to share with new mothers the exciting and overwhelming joyride I’ve been on since becoming a first-time mom and all the tears, laughter and drama that comes along with it. This is a book from one mother to another and I hope it acts as a best friend and guide for all new mommies out there,” said Deol in a statement.
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The matter-of-fact mother - Sameera Reddy: Here’s an actress who adopts a stretch marks — and-moles approach to motherhood. Her Instagram post with the hashtag #imperfectlyperfect is all about building a body positive image, dealing with post-partum depression and giving a realistic picture about post-pregnancy bodies. Her posts on struggles with the pain of a C-section and breastfeeding in the most pragmatic, unsentimental way makes her a champion mother in our eyes.
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Mother with a worthy cause - Neha Dhupia: She breastfed her daughter exclusively for eight months, but soon realised that there are many taboos around breastfeeding in public. Her experience as a breastfeeding mother prompted her to launch the ‘freedom to feed’ campaign during World Breastfeeding Week 2019. It’s aimed at normalising breast-feeding your child and supporting new mothers when they make certain choices. “I read this post in the morning that a breastfeeding woman invests 1,800 hours in a year doing it, while a woman in a full-time job puts in 1,980 hours [into working]. But you get a chair, cabin and facilities to work, but if we are spending almost the same amount breastfeeding, shouldn’t we have better facilities. Let’s start with that,” said Dhupia in an interview with Gulf News tabloid last year.
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Keeping it real mum: Kalki Koechlin - The actress, who gave birth to her daughter Sappho last year, is going to publish a memoir about her experiences of being a new mother. She wants to openly talk about her struggles and her triumphs. According to reports, she is going to adopt a moles-and-warts approach while writing this book for new mums out there. Here's a big shout out to the actress for keeping it real.
Image Credit: Instagram.com/kalkikanmani/
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