Esha Deol on life after marriage with Bharat Takhtani: 'I couldn’t roam around the house in my shorts and ganjis'

Esha Deol

Actor Esha Deol and Bharat Takhtani recently announced that they have decided to separate after 11 years of marriage. The couple had met as teenagers in school and dated for a long time before tying the knot. However, Esha was in shock when she got married and moved in with Bharat's joint family.

In her book Amma Mia, published in 2020, Esha spoke about the changes in her life post her marriage. She said that she became more mature, and responsible after her wedding. "When we got married in 2012, there were many things that changed," she wrote. "Of course, once I began living with his family, I couldn't roam around the house in my shorts and ganjis like I used to," she wrote but added that his family was "wonderful" who "took me into their fold effortlessly."

Esha further shared that all the women at her husband's home would prepare "delicious khane ka dabbas for their husbands" whereas she had never cooked a single thing before she met Bharat. However, Esha was thankful to her mother-in-law who "never insisted that I enter the kitchen or do any of the orthodox things she had been made to do as a bahu." She added, "In fact, she always tells me that I am like her third son. And since I was the first bahu in the house, I was pampered rotten. Someone was always sending me chocolate brownies and fruit and cream."

In their first interview after marriage over a decade ago, Esha and Bharat in a joint interview spoke about their married life. "Bharat doesn't want me to put on weight. We'll soon be joining ashtanga yoga classes," Esha had said to Filmfare. Sharing her mother Hema Malini's advise, Esha said she asked her to wake up before her husband and help her mother-in-law in household chores. "There's mom's never ending advise - you shouldn't be sleeping late, you've got to wake up before your husband, help your mother-in-law, don't give up your dance practice…" she recalled.

Bharat, on the other hand, described Esha as "gharelu (homely)". Bharat said that Esha did not even know how to make tea but learnt to prepare khao suey because she was "aware of what keeps me happy."

"She takes care of my mother, her moods, she's gelled so well. Actually, Esha's always been gharelu though she liked to believe she was the boy of the house. She's caring and responsible. She's aware of what keeps me happy. I'm a foodie, I live to eat. And she sees to it that my favourite dishes are prepared at home. In fact, for someone who didn't know how to make chai, just the other day, she cooked Khow Suey," he said.

Bharat and Esha announced their separation on Tuesday in a statement to Delhi Times and said, "We have mutually and amicably decided to part ways. Through this shift in our lives, the best interests and welfare of our two children is and will be of utmost importance to us. We'd appreciate our privacy is respected."