My Daddy’s Strongest!

Father and child is a precious relationship that is more often than not, been completely overlooked and understated. But here are some Bollywood dads who are proud and pruned to talk about how fatherhood makes them who they are,

Tusshar Kapoor

Everyone around me told me that they were surprised that I opted for single parenthood. Yes, it is a big decision but I needed to make it. I was at a phase when I was about to turn 40, all I really wanted out of life was a baby of my own. A lot of people suggested I adopt, but I really wanted someone who was a part of me. Today when I sit and click a thousand photographs of Laksshya there are so many times my parents bring out a photograph of me looking very similar to Laksshya, I cannot explain how happy that makes me. He is an extension of me, yet has his own entity. He has so much to give in such a small age that he has completed our family in a way no one else could have. No matter how busy each one of us might be with work, our lives converge into what Laksshya is doing, isn’t that beautiful? Nothing I have ever done in life has been more fulfilling than having Laksshya – I have said this before. I will say it always.

Shahid Kapoor

The coolest dad on the marquee, Shahid Kapoor and his daughter Misha are known to set the internet gushing everytime there is a post about the two of them. Recently, seeing daddy dearest dance with his daughter was perhaps the highlight for many and yet, when you speak to Shahid, he will tell you that the best part about being a father is how it cleanses you. According to the Rangoon actor fatherhood is the most therapeutic journey you take. The actor shared a heart to heart, saying “You suddenly want the air to be purer, the city to be cleaner… you yourself start wanting to become a better person. Things that you might have overlooked or ignored, suddenly become important... just listening to Mira hum to Misha or baby talking is so lovely. I love waking up to it. I always thought I will be a cool, chilled out dad but there have already been times when I have act rather paranoid, so I would say fatherhood is like a mirror to who you really are… not who you fooled yourself into believing,” he says.

Riteish Deshmukh

It is when you become a father that you realise how much your father has done for you, it is a very common saying but actor Riteish Deshmukh insists it stands true for him. Right from baking cakes to taking naps with your kids, Riteish is being a hands-on father in every way. “I realise the importance of these moments. I know how precious these are, there will be a time when they won’t need us as much as they need us today so why not spend these moments treasuring them. It is fact that my whole lifestyle has changed since we had Riaan and later, Rahyl. Our idea of fun has gone through a whole new definition, because kids do that, they change you for the better. Since my father is no longer with us today, it has always bothered me that my children haven’t been able to spend time with their granddad. It also puts an added pressure on our part to ensure that we are giving them the kind of life and upbringing that my dad would have wanted them to have. The one thing that my father always taught, and I fervently want to pass it onto them is the value of ‘respect’. My father always said you don’t command respect, you give it. The more you respect people around you, the more respect you get. It is something I have lived by and I am really keen on inculcating it in my children,” he says.