Recently, actor, Manoj Bajpayee opened up about how his family reacted to his interfaith marriage with Shabana Raza. The actor also discussed raising his daughter, Ava in an interfaith household.
Actor, Manoj Bajpayee tied the knot with his ladylove, Shabana Raza in April 2006, and if not already clear by their names, it was an interfaith one. While Manoj is a Hindu Brahmin, Shabana Raza is a Muslim. It is no secret that interfaith marriage always cause an uproar in Indian society. Well, Manoj recently opened up about how his family reacted to his marriage with Shabana. The proud father also shed light on how he is raising his beloved daughter, Ava Nayla in his and Shabana's interfaith household.
Manoj Baypayee recently had a candid chat with Barkha Dutt on Mojo Story, wherein he discussed several aspects of his life, including his interfaith marriage. The actor revealed that his family had barely reacted to the news that he was marrying a Muslim. Stating that 'nothing happened' when he broke the news to his family and community, Manoj said:
"It's been easy. I'm always very surprised. It's the people who matter the most; it's people who refuse to be impacted and affected by this."
Speaking specifically about his father, Manoj said that he was very broad-minded and had never opposed their relationship. The actor revealed that his father had several Muslim friends, and said:
"My father was very, very inclusive. Very gentle, very polite. He had many Muslim friends. He was a huge supporter of the party which is in government today. But you'll be surprised, the number of Muslim people who attended his funeral were far, far more than the people who belonged to his religion. That was what my upbringing was like."
Further in the interview, Manoj Bajpayee got candid about raising his and Shabana Raza's beautiful daughter, Ava Nayla in an interfaith household. According to the actor, Ava was being raised to make her own decisions in life when it came to religion. Manoj further revealed that struggles with religious identity were non-existent in their household, and said:
"We don't need to handle it. There is no fight, there is no struggle. All of us have our own space to practice our faith. Now, even the little one is made to realise it by her peers. The peers are getting this idea from their parents. Ava's religion is the conversation in their household, and that conversation reaches us, and Ava asks her mother, 'What is my religion?' And she's told, 'You choose yours'."
Manoj firmly stated that he and Shabana had a deep respect for each other's religion. As such, neither of them was forcing their daughter to adopt any one religion. The actor, who looked a little irked by the questions, stated that he does pooja every day at the temple, while Shabana does namaaz. Manoj also revealed that his daughter, Ava does pranam at times, and at other times, she doesn't. However, such things were never questioned in their household.
After grabbing each other's attention at a party, Manoj Bajpayee and Shabana Raza dated for eight years before getting hitched in 2006. Interestingly, it wasn't Manoj's first marriage as way back during his struggling phase, he was married to a girl from Delhi. But the couple had fallen apart amicably and divorced within a few months of marriage. In an interview with Hindustan Times right after their wedding, Shabana opened up on the type of bonding she shares with her husband, Manoj and revealed that nothing gave the duo more joy than sitting at home and enjoying hearty conversations over a cup of tea.
What do you think about Manoj Bajpayee's revelations about his interfaith marriage with Shabana Raza?
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