Geeta Basra opens up about early days of her career, motherhood and pregnancy clause in movie contracts

Second time mother to be Geeta Basra has some valuable tips for women who are pregnant during covid times. The actress speaks about how to stay positive, her work plans post her delivery, and also recalls her early days in films which were tough for women and feels that this is the best time for women of all ages in Bollywood.

Geeta says, “It is the hardest time one can be in. Although, it is beautiful as well; you are at home relaxing, you are not going anywhere, and you are in your comfort zone with your family. But the downside of it is that you can’t do anything, can’t go anywhere. During my first pregnancy, I was extremely active. I was in my acqua-natal classes, pre-natal classes, yoga classes, lot of walking till my ninth month.”

Speaking about her routine before her daughter Hinaya was born, Geeta says, “Just before I delivered I was walking. I was really active. This time I am pushing myself to do yoga at home. That is something I do daily. I can’t go to a park. I can’t go to the beach, can’t take my daughter anywhere. My first pregnancy was all about me. But this pregnancy is about Hinaya also. I can’t ignore her needs. You have no option but to remain positive. At the end of the day all these things will affect your baby.”

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It is also important to keep oneself positive in these tough times. So, how does she keep herself positive, Geeta said, “When you have a child at home who is constantly running around, the energy is different. When you have a child at home, they don’t know anything but to be positive. Hinaya says it in her own way, mama mujhe bahar jaana hai, swimming jaana hai. But their outlook every day is so positive. They get up, start their day, and play with the same toys. I try to mix it up a little bit.”

Geeta continues, “How much different can you do every single day at home? But it makes a difference. Your support group is also important. Husband has to give that positivity at home. Because your hormones are going to go everywhere. You are going to feel down, you are going to feel low. There are days when you are going to feel sad. I have locked out all the daily news from my life.”

“How much can you blind yourself to the reality outside? You are sitting in your comfort zone and these things affect you. My family can’t come here. I wanted my mom here. Tickets were all booked, everything was done. But they are being cancelled due to the pandemic. Every girl wants their mother around. We connect on video calls. Two years without seeing your family and grandparents miss seeing their grandchildren”, Geeta added.

Speaking about her husband cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Geeta said, “He is with me and has been around since the IPL finished. His responsibility with Hinaya has increased and he is doing his Daddy duties which is great. He is getting some bonding time with her.”

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Geeta has plans on her work front too. She said, “There was something we were planning in September which was going on floors. That was just about to start and IPL dates came in. Again, we had to push it. She also plans to get back to work, be it films or OTT but said, “At the moment, my priorities are very different. I am just about to deliver my second child. That will require mama’s attention. Work will be there. But these years with your children never come back. You will regret it later.” As for getting work she said, “We are living in an era where there is a lot of work for different ages, which is fabulous.”

But back in the days when actresses got married it was not taken nicely by the film industry. Geeta said, “When I entered the industry in 2007, which was a difficult time for a girl. I was 21. My first movie was released and I met Harbhajan. The link up started straight after that that we are getting married, we are dating but we were not. We were friends at that time but the moment you’re linked, you are literally written off before your career could start. But were there contracts which said that one cannot get married or pregnant during the shooting of a film, Geeta said, “Why would they risk all this money when tomorrow you could get married or get pregnant?”

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Geeta did lose projects because of her link up with Harbhajan. She revealed, “I did lose four big projects. They thought I was getting married. Every month our marriage date is fixed, I kept telling the reporters we were not even dating then. It is something that can hamper a girl’s career.” Geeta adds, “It was not even two years of me in Mumbai. I was just learning how this industry works. And at that time there was a big actress who shot half the movie and got pregnant. Producers and director got scared.”

Geeta’s film The Train had been released and she was receiving accolades. She said, “People were appreciating me, ke yeh ladki kaun hai. The Train’s music was also quite popular. Unfortunately, things were very different at that time.”

She reveals that the audience didn’t like their heroines linked up. She said, “You couldn’t be unavailable. You just don’t have to be available for actors, producers, directors and audiences also. They couldn’t see their actresses taken. Their mentality was very different. But it is very different today. Every second actress is married and has a personal life.”

She further reasons, “Why can’t you have a personal and professional life? Why do only male actors get that? If she gets her body back and she can look glamorous after having kids why can’t she have a career? Why is it only men who have both that they could be settled with kids and have a fabulous career? Things started changing only a couple of years back when audiences started accepting that these girls can get married and we still love them on-screen.”

Geeta concludes, “We are living in the best time for girls where we have great opportunities. But right now I am not even trying. Because I have a baby coming. My focus is on that and will always be on that.”