Gone are the days when adoption, IVF, single parenting and surrogacy were the tabooed subjects in our country. Shilpa Shetty Kundra reveals why she had chosen surrogacy to welcome her second child.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where embracing motherhood is considered as a blessing and the most blissful phase of a woman’s life but she is targeted for the normal bodily changes that come with it. Instead of celebrating the process of bringing a human in this world and embracing the imperfections, a woman is forced to worry about her weight and she cringes with disgust when she sees her stretch marks and saggy skin in the mirror. And it’s high time as post-pregnancy body shaming needs to STOP now! (Also Read: Shilpa Shetty Kundra's Son, Viaan Raj Kundra Pens A Handwritten Note For Her On Mother's Day)
She is the one, who inspired everyone with her workout videos and made us believe in ‘yoga se hi hoga’ and ‘swasth raho, mast raho’! Speak about the fitness and the first name that pops up in our mind is of Shilpa Shetty Kundra. But did you know that just like her fellow actresses, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sameera Reddy and Neha Dhupia, Shilpa too, became a target of the body-shaming? It was on May 21, 2012, when Shilpa had embraced motherhood for the first time and had welcomed a baby boy in her life. Ever since her son’s birth, Shilpa’s life had revolved around her little munchkin and she has been celebrating a ‘new me’ every single day. But her celebration had gone for a toss when she was judged and body-shamed for not losing her post-pregnancy weight by a group of women.
In an interview with Pinkvilla, Shilpa Shetty Kundra, the poster girl for fitness and health, recalled her experience with body-shaming post delivering her firstborn, Viaan Kundra. Narrating how a group of women at a kitty had judged and body-shamed her for her post-pregnancy weight, Shilpa stated, "I had put on 32 kilos during my pregnancy. Ideally, I thought I'd gain around 15 kilos but I had double that weight. And after delivering Viaan, I put on two more kilos which was ridiculous. I don't know how I did that. So I remember this one incident when I went out with Raj for dinner for the first time after having Viaan. We walked in and there was this group of women at a kitty sitting and smirking at me. I could hear them say, "Is that Shilpa Shetty? She still has weight!" It was absolutely heartless."
Questioning the mentality of such people, Shilpa Shetty Kundra continued, "Who are these people anyway? I would also like to see how they look when they get pregnant. It's easy to comment." Revealing that it was her mother, Sunanda Shetty, who had motivated her to lose those extra kilos, Shilpa remarked, "My mother is known for her straight talk. One day, she just asked me, "When are you planning to lose the weight?" Trust a mother to always burst your bubble.” And then eventually, Shilpa had shed off her extra kilos and became the yummiest mummy of B-town. (Also Read: Nisha Rawal Slams Trolls Who Belly-Shamed Her By Asking If She's Pregnant, Proudly Flaunts Her Belly)
Gone are the days when adoption, IVF, single parenting and surrogacy were the tabooed subjects in our country. With the influential celebrities opening up, time and again, on opting for alternative methods to embrace parenthood and experience the joy of having a little baby in their life, Shilpa Shetty Kundra too, reveals why she had chosen surrogacy to welcome her second child. Shilpa said, "After Viaan, I did want to have another child for the longest time. But I suffered with an auto immune disease called APLA and that came into play every time I get pregnant. So I had a couple of miscarriages. So, it was a genuine issue. I didn't want Viaan to grow up as a single child, because I'm also one of two and I know how important it is to have a sibling. Coming from that thought, I did explore other ideas as well but that didn't pan out well. At a time when I wanted to adopt, I had put in my name and everything was underway. But then, the Christian missionary shut down because they had a tiff with Kara. I waited for nearly four years and then, I was so irritated and we decided to try the surrogacy route. We had Samisha after three attempts. I had honestly given up on the thought of another child."
Shilpa Shetty Kundra had taken a voluntarily break from her work when she had become a mother to her son, Viaan Kundra. Revealing her plan now, as she had embraced motherhood for the second time with the arrival of her daughter, Samisha Shetty Kundra, Shilpa shared, "My mum was a working woman and she always said to me that we have the luxury of time whereas for her, it was a luxury. She couldn't afford to take out that much time because we had to make ends meet. We came from a middle class family who slowly climbed up and became an upper middle class family but they worked so hard to give us the best life. I just feel that we have choices as women."
Revealing her projects and how the unplanned arrival of her daughter, Samisha Shetty Kundra had changed her plans, Shilpa Shetty Kundra stated, "I was very clear I would be a hands on mom with my first child. I wanted to be with Viaan for the first 7 years. I intend to do that with Samisha too. That phase is the most important phase of a child's life. Samisha was kind of unplanned and then in the year I decided to take up two films, this happened. I was about to finish with Nikamma when I knew this. Then, Hungama 2 was supposed to be over but there was a delay and then the lockdown happened. So Samisha came with the destiny of having this time with me. Now, consciously I'll reduce my work again and have to pace it out. I'll be picking and choosing things again." (Also Read: Raveena Tandon Talks About Her Equation With Her Adopted Daughters And Her Important Advice For Them)
On May 10, 2020, Shilpa Shetty Kundra had celebrated her first Mother’s Day with her newborn daughter, Samisha Shetty Kundra!