After the release of the Punjabi film Lock (2016), actor Geeta Basra decided to take a sabbatical from the movies. Following her marriage to former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh in 2015, she chose to focus on her family. A year later, she gave birth to their daughter, Hinaya Heer Plaha. In 2021, she became a mother again to a son named Jovan Veer Singh Plaha. And now, after seven years, she has kick-started the shoot of her comeback film. Titled Notary, the satirical drama also stars Parambrata Chatterjee.
In exclusive interview with News18, Geeta says that the six-year hiatus was much needed and she was gung-ho about facing the camera with Notary, which she began filming for last week. “I wasn’t ready before mainly because I wanted to complete my family and have a second child. I couldn’t get back to work earlier because Hinaya was very young. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit us and that took away three years. Then I had two miscarriages. I wasn’t mentally, physically and emotionally ready to get back to work,” she says.
She further continues, “Since Harbhajan was traveling all the time, I felt that I needed to focus on my children, and one parent had to be at home at all times. It was also tough because we didn’t have family around.” Geeta shares that the support from her family members means the world to her and she is particularly thankful to her mother. “My son is slightly older now and my mom has come down from London to look after him. They’re currently staying with me. Harbhajan is at home with Hinaya. All of this has made things work out perfectly for me,” she explains.
Marriage is about equal partnership and the 38-year-old feels relieved that her husband has stepped into her shoes in her absence to take care of their six-year-old daughter. Quiz her about Harbhajan’s reaction on her getting back to work and she says, “He was very supportive. He thought it was great that I’m planning on going back to work and he told me that we’ll find a way to take care of the kids. He has worked around his schedule and made it a point to adjust his timetable if case work pops up. And that’s what you require from your support system.”
The actor, who started her career with Dil Diya Hai (2006), adds, “All this while, he has been working stress-free because he knew that I was at home with the children. But now, I require these adjustments from his end as a husband and father.”
The Zila Ghaziabad (2013) and The Train (2007) actor also feels grateful that her schedule in Bhopal gives her ample time to spend with her one-and-a-half year old son. “Luckily, the schedule isn’t so manic. Earlier, we would have double shifts but that’s not the case anymore. Today, there’s a single shift and you can be back home on time. Plus I’m not shooting every other day. Day shoots are followed by night shoots on the next day. It’s pretty adjustable. The fact that my son is travelling with me makes me feel more at ease,” she states.
The actor, whose last Bollywood outing was Second Hand Husband (2015), reveals that the conversation with her daughter prior to her flying to Bhopal wasn’t an easy one. Recalling the episode, she shares, “A few weeks back, I thought of training and preparing her for the months that I’m not going to be home. I’ve never ever been away from her for even a single day. I had to sit her down and tell her that mom is going to go for work. She was a little taken aback. I told her that she can’t come with me because she has to go school. But she’s a very mature and sensible girl. I think she’s fine.”
Though being away from her makes Geeta extremely emotional, she has worked out an arrangement where Hinaya can fly down to Bhopal to be with her during the weekends. “She had been asking me every day why I’m going to be away for so long. She has constantly been telling me that she misses me. These things make it harder. But I’m away from her for only a month. But I think she’s at that stage where she’s probably going to enjoy the patrol police not being around her constantly. I’m the bad cop in the house who disciplines them. She might actually have a party!” she says with a laugh.
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