Pooja Bhatt on tackling questions about possible second marriage: ‘My life is not incomplete’

Actor-director Pooja Bhatt has opened up on marriage and how many women, despite big achievements, have to come home to the question ‘khaane mein kya hai (what’s there to eat)?’. She also spoke about her personal life and how she faced questions about her getting married again. Pooja added that her life is not incomplete ‘because I choose to live the way I do’.

Pooja Bhatt got married to Manish Makhija in 2003. They announced their separation in 2014. However, Pooja has not legally separated from him.

Speaking to Filmfare, Pooja said, “No matter what we women achieve in the world, a lot of us come home and our achievements are reduced to ‘haan, theek hai na, tumne Nobel Prize jeet liya magar abhi khaane mein kya hai?’ (Good, you’ve won the Nobel Prize but what’s for dinner?) Are you a mother? Are you not? Are you married? Are you not? I’ve been asked by so many people why aren’t you getting married again. And I tell them that I’ve grown up from thinking ‘and they lived happily ever after’ to ‘and she lived happily ever after’. I’ve been there, done that, tried it and recommended it to people too. But my life is not incomplete because I choose to live the way I do.”

Pooja made her acting come back with Bombay Begums. Speaking about the series, she said, “I’m delighted and humbled by the reception that Bombay Begums has received. Women from across the country have reached out to say that finally, we can see stories about real women and how it plays out in the real world. Spring has arrived in the backyard and I’m exulting in it. I’ve also been moved by messages from within the fraternity, who’ve reached out to me and showered me with so much love.”

In the Netflix series, Pooja played the role of a mother who also happened to be a business honcho. The series also featured Shahana Goswami, Plabita Borthakur and Amruta Subhash. Last year, she made a guest appearance in Sadak 2. It was the sequel of her 1991 movie.

Also Read | Pooja Bhatt opens up about battling alcoholism, says she didn’t want to ‘cover’ it up

Earlier this year, speaking to Pinkvilla, Pooja had said that she took a break from acting as she didn’t want to be ‘arm candy’. “…While I was privileged to have gotten some extremely varied roles from Daddy, to Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin to Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee and even Border for that matter. I felt that time that I was in, there was only that much one could do. I didn’t have the aspirations to be arm candy and just be in a commercial film because of the fact that there are two superstars in it. My question always was, what am I doing in it?” she had said.