Neha Dhupia on why she chose 'bas' as the first word to teach her daughter Mehr
Neha Dhupia, who was in Delhi for 'Roadies Revolution' auditions, opened up about motherhood, and the values she wants to inculcate in her daughter, Mehr, when she grows up. The reality show judge is married to actor Angad Bedi. (Photo: Instagram)
On juggling between her professional and personal life
Balancing the two often isn't an easy task but Neha shared with us, "I started shooting when my daughter was just 45 days old. And now that she is growing up, I look forward to spending as much time with her as possible, even if it is the time when she is sleeping." (Photo: Instagram)
On Mehr recognising her parents as celebrities
Talking about her daughter, Neha said, "Mehr hasn't seen me or Angad (Bedi) on screen as she hasn't had any screen time yet. But we have a pile of magazines lying in one of the corners of the house, and as she can crawl now, she saw me on one of the magazine covers and recognised me. When Angad's pictures are in papers, she would recognise him, too." (Photo: Instagram)
On teaching her daughter her first word 'bas'
While the doting mama can't wait for her baby to talk, she told TOI that the first word she taught Mehr was 'bas'. She explained, "She should know when to say enough. If the food being fed is too much she says 'bas', if she is being forced to do anything or if somebody is pulling her cheeks more than she would like, she knows that she has to say 'bas'. She knows how to say no. Strong women raise strong daughters and I always tell my daughter that if she is not comfortable, she should just say it. The other day she was playing and somebody tickled her and she said 'bas, bas'. So she knows when she has to say no, and she would apply it for the rest of her life now." (Photo: Instagram)
On her aspirations for her daughter
She shared, "A lot of parents (and I respect them) have huge aspirations about which institution their child should go to or what their children should do. As a mum, I feel that I want to raise my daughter believing that she has a voice and she should know how to exercise the power of that voice." (Photo: Instagram)
On her daughter's interest in cricket
It is well-known that Neha's father-in-law was a popular cricketer, and even Angad is fond of the sport. Talking about the same, Neha revealed her daughter has started showing interest in cricket. "She spins the ball very well. It's very cool to see her do that. We are a family connected to cricket, everyone knows that my father-in-law (Bishan Singh Bedi) and Angad used to play cricket. I grew up watching a lot of sports. So, as parents we couldn't be happier to see that she is so much interested in sports already," says Neha, who also plans to take her daughter to Arun Jaitley Stadium (Feroz Shah Kotla Ground) soon." (Photo: Instagram)
On inculcating the right values in her daughter
She added, "My father-in-law has a stand named after him there and I would like to show that to my daughter. I would want her to know who her grandparents are, what value systems they believe in. I also want her to know Delhi as not just her grandparents' place, but also as a place where both her parents grew up and have so many memories." (Photo: Instagram)