It takes a celebrity to bring a concept into public focus and Aamir and Kiran Rao's baby by surrogacy is a case in point.
It takes a celebrity to bring a concept into public focus and Aamir and Kiran Rao's baby by surrogacy is a case in point. It is too early to say but one can be quite certain that there will be more couples, same sex or heterosexual looking at surrogacy, now that the actor-director couple have admitted that they have had a baby boy through surrogacy.u00a0
Media reports will definitely fan the flames of curiosity and doctors may find that Aamir-Kiran have brought surrogacy out of the hush-hush.u00a0This is an industry where stars, at times, are forced to be professional liars. They lie about their age, their affairs and sometimes, even their work, Aamir and Kiran have been refreshingly candid and also very brave. It takes courage to admit that you have had a child through surrogacy and Aamir-Kiran being a famous couple, knew that this birth would be front-page news in papers as well as receive a lot of TV time.u00a0
So, their confession if one could call it that, needs a tremendous round of applause. Bollywood folklore speaks of one famous name that stayed at home for nine months pretending to be pregnant, while the couple was actually going to have a child through surrogacy.
Celebrities they may be and in some cases the rules are different for them. Yet, actors and those in the film industry too are part of society. Despite all the advances, it is a society that can still stigmatise a woman who is unable to have a child and the pressures sometimes overt and at other times, covert are tremendous.u00a0
Actors too, no doubt, feel the pressure. Ever since Aishwarya Rai married Abhishek, there was a constant speculation about when they would have a child. In the light of all this, Aamir-Kiran have shown rare honesty. The Oscar proved elusive for Lagaan but they deserve one for their honesty. u00a0u00a0