It was on February 14, 1999 that actor Mandira Bedi aka Shanti of the cult TV series married director-producer Raj Kaushal. It’s been over two decades that the two have been together. Today, when she looks back, she recalls how her husband has always been her “strength”, and the phase which was the lowest point in her marriage.
Mandira, who was last seen in the film Saaho (2019), says, “Raj has always been a great encouragement to me. We have gone through some really rough patches as well. There was a time when I was always busier than him. That was a good part of our married life. But, couple of years ago, there was a time when he got as busy as me, and that was not just something that I was used to; it was also something that he wasn’t used to. So, it kind of changed the balance. And that’s when things went a little haywire, and we fought a lot because suddenly I was not getting the support that I was used to. It upset the balance till we found a new equilibrium. But that was very difficult phase and I didn’t talk to him for one month – that’s a long time to not to talk to the person you are living with… In fact, I’ve written one full chapter on marriage in my memoir, Happy For No Reason.”
Despite the ups and downs, the couple has kept their hopes alive to adopt a girl child since the past five years.
“There has been no movement on that. Because our cumulative age together is over 90, so we can only get a child of a certain age bracket; maybe that’s what’s causing the delay. My son is now eight years old; when we applied he was five. Gone are the days when you could go to an orphanage or a centre and apply for adopting a child there. Everything is online now, and under one umbrella. I can’t understand why it’s taking so long… When I was pregnant, we decided that if it’s a girl, we would name her Tara and if it’s a boy it would be Veer. And we had a boy, so his name is Veer. Now we are waiting for Tara!”
