Pooja Bedi is a feisty mom to Alaya F and Omar F. A single mother, Pooja exactly knows how to write her own destiny without compromising on anything. The actress was formerly married to Farhan Furniturewala and the two decided to take different routes in 2003. Despite being divorced, Pooja and Farhan continue to remain friends and share a relationship where mutual respect for each other has an upper hand.
While Pooja has broken several stereotypes over the years, society fails to normalise 'divorce'. Talking to PeepingMoon exclusively for a Mother's Day special segment, the actress turned entrepreneur said there were times people called her children baggage and bombarded her with questions like "shaadi kaun karega", "bacchon ka kya hoga" etc. Speaking about her parents and their relationship, Pooja told that she never saw stepmothers or other people are someone who came in to take somebody's place. She shared that her upbringing was balanced and received love from all those who were associated with her parents.
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"When you get divorced, there is a certain societal attachment to the word "divorcee". It was a massive deal to be a divorcee and move on in life 18 years ago. Things like "shaadi kaun karega", "bacchon ka socho", "khud ka kyu soch rahi ho" etc came into the picture. They even referred to my children Alaya and Omar as baggage. I told them they are not my baggage but assets. For me, it was also the way I grew up. Coming from a divorced family, I fully know that you can find love again and again. My father (Kabir Bedi) has been married 4 times now. It is the way you handle yourself and that defines your quality of life. My parents went from strength to strength and never let it interfere with our lives. We were included in our lives, got love and affection from both parents. My mother (late Protima Bedi) was in India and my father lived abroad. I had a very balanced upbringing. Whoever my father and mother got involved, they added love to our lives. There were more people to love and receive love from. That’s the way we were taught to see stepmothers or other people coming in. That's the headspace we grew up with and not that they have come to take anybody's place. The whole positioning was different," Pooja told.
Talking about Alaya (actress) and Omar, Pooja said as a mother, she wouldn't like to see her children compromise 50 years of their lives for 5 good years. "It was the same for Alaya and Omar. It was important for me to make them secure, stable and to make them understand it's human, it's normal and people do grow up and even separate. I would not expect my children, if in a bad marriage, to stick on for the sake of being "married" and to have them compromise 50 years of their lives for 5 good years. Sometimes, you make the wrong choice. But at times, it's not the wrong choice," Pooja said.
Pooja Bedi with Maneck Contractor
Pooja spoke about her relationship with her ex-husband and his family. "My ex-husband (Farhan Furniturewala) was the right choice at that point in my life. But at some point, you either grow together or grow apart; we grew apart. It made no sense for us to continue our journeys together. It doesn’t mean we are bad people, we are wonderful people but only our lives diverged that’s why I love and respect him even today. Today, he can come over with his wife Laila, son Zaan to party with me, my fiance Maneck Contractor, Alaya and Omar. This is because our headspace is different and how you choose to take it and shape your life. That is one important aspect that needs to be considered," Pooja shared.
(Transcribed by: Tanmayi Savadi)
Watch the full interview:
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