In the right direction

Four Bollywood directors have adopted babies and interestingly, all girls

In the right direction

Four Bollywood directors have adopted babies and interestingly, all girls

Several film directors in Bollywood have adopted babies. It is quite interesting to note that most of these kids are girls.

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Prakash Jha, Kunal Kohli

Filmmaker Prakash Jha set the ball rolling 18 years ago when he and his then wife Deepti Naval adopted Disha. When Prakash separated from Deepti, he sent Disha to a boarding school in Panchgani.

Today, he regrets not spending more time with her during her childhood. A mistake that Kunal Kohli, the latest adoptive father in tinsel town is determined not to make.

Alloting time
While Jha couldn't cope with the double task of parenting and direction, Kunal has set a clear time frame aside for his seven-month daughter. "Mornings are clearly devoted to my daughter Radha and nothing changes that," says the director.

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Dibakar Bannerjee and Nikhil Advani

Even now when he has started directing a new film, the time set aside for Radha remains sacrosanct.
Last year, director Dibakar Bannerjee adopted a baby girl Ira and set aside all his work for the entire year. He started his next film Shanghai only after spending almost six months watching Ira grow accustomed to her new life.

Holidays for her
Four years ago, when director Nikhil Advani adopted a baby girl Keya he had ceased all work and stayed home to look after her with his wife. "Even today, Sundays and holidays are for Keya. Nothing can take away the time I spend with her," he says fondly.

All these directors admit bringing a baby girl home has made them better human beings and filmmakers. Says Prakash, "Having my daughter with me gives me a feeling of identity. While making a film, the unit becomes your family. But that is a breakable family. Disha is permanent family."

Now, buzz is that two of our most successful bachelor directors are planning to adopt a baby-girl each.