No Pregnant Pause
Six months after the birth of her second son, Kareena Kapoor Khan is set to shatter the myths perpetuated by her stunning pics and busy schedule during her pregnancies: carrying a child is about body changes, emotional upheaval and insecurities galore!
“Saif and I did discuss surrogacy. Saif’s instant reaction had been that if we can have children, why not try and do it ourselves? Carrying both my children has been the greatest joy for me in life…”
—Kareena Kapoor Khan, 40, photographed exclusively for HT Brunch last weekend at her Mumbai home
Is Kareena Kapoor one of Bollywood’s first actresses to wear her pregnancy with pride? In November 2016, when I met “Bebo” to shoot one of India’s first-ever magazine covers with a Bollywood star posing fully pregnant, Kareena had been busier than ever. She had been endorsing products, completing films, waving to the paparazzi on her nights out and willy-nilly becoming a model for pregnant women’s fashion.
The HT Brunch cover — we called it “Bebo’s Baby Bump”— turned out like a painting and
four years and another pregnancy later, it is still one of the top images the Internet throws up of a pregnant Kareena Kapoor.
But at the very start of our conversation today, the 40-year-old actor is ready to set the record right: pregnancy is not about perfectly coiffed hair and glowing skin. It isn’t just about swollen feet, mood swings and raging appetite either. It’s about insecurities, uncontrollable (and unattractive) body changes, unexpected (and scary) vaginal bleeding (spotting), loss of a
sex drive, perineum massages and other things rarely spoken about and never fully understood.
THE SURROGATE SOLUTION
If pregnancy is all this, why wouldn’t a major league Bollywood star opt for surrogacy? My first question is lined with all the insensitivity any non-parent could voice. Don’t looks mean a lot for an actor?
“To be honest, Saif and I did discuss surrogacy,” says Kareena. “It was me who had suggested it years ago and Saif’s instant reaction had been that if we can have children, why not try and do it ourselves? He was very clear that we should do it the right way and that’s what happened. God had it planned this way, I guess. Carrying both my children has been the greatest joy for me in life and I’m happy I’ve experienced it with both the boys. I also enjoyed being pregnant. I actually didn’t care about what I looked like: my face was bloated, my feet were swollen, yet I was waddling in and out of restaurants during Tim’s time, and during my second pregnancy, too, I was shooting for brands till my eighth month!”
Kareena delivered Taimur (or ‘Tim’) in
“I HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT SEX DURING PREGNANCY IN THE BOOK BECAUSE IT IS A RELEVANT TOPIC BETWEEN A HUSBAND AND A WIFE AND WHAT THE WOMAN ACTUALLY FEELS!” –KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN
December 2016, and had her second baby, Jehangir (or ‘Jeh’) in February 2021. She has penned her experiences in a newly released book called Kareena Kapoor’s Pregnancy Bible, co-written by Aditi Shah-Bhimjyani and published by Juggernaut.
“When Chiki Sarkar [publisher of Juggernaut books] came to me with the idea, the first thing I asked her was how much I would be allowed to tell,” says Kareena, making it amply clear that the “bold topics” she has addressed in the book were of her own doing. “The book is a blow-by-blow account of what happened during my pregnancies, Covid times and more. It is not an autobiography,” adds Kareena, explaining that it is full of solid advice from the experts who helped her. “It is also the only book to be approved by FOGSI (Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India), which means a lot.”
“Jeh’s pregnancy was tougher on me because I was four and a half years older than I was when I was with Tim" —Kareena Kapoor Khan
SHHH! PILLOW TALK
In the chapter he writes in your book, Saif calls you a ‘trailblazer’, first for marrying him at age 31, when he was 10 years your senior with two grown-up kids, then talking about losing your sex drive during your pregnancy.
Kareena laughs, “No guts, no glory,” she says simply. She has used the term for herself before. “The fact is that I don’t think you even require guts to talk about these day-to-day things,” she continues. “I have spoken about sex during pregnancy in the book because it is a relevant topic between a husband and a wife and what the woman actually feels. Probably she doesn’t feel the need, or doesn’t feel like she likes herself at that point of time. I think posing with a bump in Vogue magazine is cool, but the fact is that this is the reality of what mothers go through.”
You talk about being more active during Taimur’s pregnancy, and less during the second one? “Jeh’s pregnancy was tougher on me because, honestly, I was four and a half years older than I was when I was with Tim,” says Kareena.
Is there any topic in the book you thought you should sleep over before you decided to put it in? “Actually, no!” says Kareena. “Even when I was talking to Aditi [ShahBhimjyani], who co-wrote the book with me, I was like let’s just write it because this is what happened and this is how I feel.”
And Saif? “No, he is very chill,” she says. “He is like ‘If you are writing it, I’m sure you know what you’re doing and saying.’ I did run the pictures I used in the book by him though.”
There is a part in the book, Kareena, where you say you looked at yourself in the mirror undressed after Taimur was born, and what you saw, the C-section scar, the flab, the swelling, could have shattered an actress whose big asset is the way she looks.
“Yes, completely. Both times,” says Kareena. Tell us about that: winning back your vanity. “I know the whole world thinks I’m this diva,” says Kareena. “But honestly I’m not. I’m waiting for this shoot to get over and put on my Fabindia kaftan. I do this because it’s my job. As for the insecurity of whether I’ll ever get into shape, I can wear a bikini even when I’m like 90 kgs. I’m quite bindaas that way!”
TWO OF A FEATHER
Before we let you go, Kareena, can you talk about your two boys? You’ve said in the book that Taimur and Jehangir are different: Tim was quiet when he was just born, Jeh screamed, Tim looks like Saif, Jeh looks like you…
“Well, it’s true,” Kareena says. “Jeh looks exactly like me and Tim looks like Saif. Tim has more of Saif’s personality and I think Jeh is a wonderful mix because he is actually quite social and comfortable amongst people. At six months, Timu wouldn’t like too many new faces, but Jeh is very comfortable. Tim has more of a feisty nature; he is a typical Saggitarian, so he is creative, he loves colouring and drawing. Let’s see how Jeh develops.”
Then suddenly, Kareena begins thinking aloud. “I want my boys to be thorough gentlemen, I want people to say they are well brought up,” she says. “I don’t want to be a helicopter mother. My own mother was like, ‘do what you want, your mistakes are your mistakes, learn to repair them because that’s the only way it works’. Jeh is small, but Tim is more aware now; so if he does something wrong, I tell him to clear up the mess. That’s the only way they learn.”
LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE?
Finally, we have to ask: Taimur’s paparazzi following is what legends are made of. Will you play things differently with Jeh?
“I think we are already,” says Kareena. “It was all so overwhelming with Taimur. This time, Saif and I sat down and thought that this time we must chill out. They’re just kids at the end of the day! So we haven’t let Jeh be photographed yet, though Saif is constantly teasing me, saying ‘‘if the mother is posing for the paps, the kids will too!’’ I’m trying to keep Jeh as far from the media as I can. Let’s see how long it lasts.”
“WE HAVEN’T LET JEH BE PHOTOGRAPHED YET, THOUGH SAIF IS CONSTANTLY TEASING ME, SAYING 'IF THE MOTHER IS POSING FOR THE PAPS, THE KIDS WILL TOO'” –KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN