Celebrity parents: The stork visits B-town

NEW DELHI:

Some are busy changing nappies, others are preparing to welcome their first child: motherhood is the buzzword in Bollywood! While Aishwarya Rai and Lara Dutta are pregnant, Konkona Sen Sharma, Mandira Bedi and Preeti Jhangiani are relishing playing hands-on moms to their newborns.

The much-awaited news of Rai’s pregnancy was broken to the fans and film fraternity by her father-in-law, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, in June. The Bachchan household was overjoyed with the news — with papa-to-be Abhishek Bachchan thanking everyone for their “love, support and blessings”, and in a recent interview, stating: “I want a daughter who will look like Aishwarya.”

Meanwhile, work has taken a backseat for Rai, who has been replaced by Kareena Kapoor in Madhur Bhandarkar’s ambitious project Heroine. Dutta, who married tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi in February, is the latest to confirm her pregnancy.

In the meantime, celebrity mothers Sharma, Bedi and Jhangiani are making the most of the joys of motherhood. Married to film-maker Raj Kaushal, Bedi had a son on July 17, after 12 years of marriage. They are proud parents of a baby boy, whom they have named Vir. Jhangiani and her husband, Parveen Dabbas, who are gearing up for the release of their debut production and direction venture Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande also joined the list of new celebrity parents with the birth of their son in April.

Bollywood’s other yummy mummies include Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Sonali Bendre, Kajol, Twinkle Khanna and Malaika Arora Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2011.