From Madhuri Dixit to Kiara Advani: Stars who stepped away for their babies
Many Bollywood actresses have taken a break from films to embrace motherhood. From Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai to Kareena Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, they stepped away but later returned. With reports of Kiara Advani pausing work, here's a look at stars who did the same.
Bollywood has always been about glamour, blockbusters, and back-to-back film schedules. But even in this fast-paced world, many leading actresses chose to pause their careers to embrace motherhood. Their choices often lead to discussions: some are celebrated, some are questioned. Recently, reports suggest that Kiara Advani, who is expecting her first child with Sidharth Malhotra, has decided to step away from Don 3. This news has made fans wonder if she is following the footsteps of other actresses who prioritised family over films, at least for a while.
Here's a look at Bollywood¡¯s leading ladies who took a break from acting to welcome their little ones.
Madhuri Dixit: Turning down Hollywood for family
During the 1990s, Madhuri Dixit was one of Bollywood's most celebrated actresses. But after getting married in 1999, she moved to the US and shifted her focus away from films.
Speaking about this in an interview with News18 she said, "There were one or two opportunities that came my way, but I was pregnant with my second child at that time. I didn¡¯t want to work when I was pregnant. That's why I had said no".
Madhuri has two sons, Arin (born in 2003) and Ryan (born in 2005). While she was away from the industry for years, she eventually made a comeback. Most recently, she was seen in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, where she shared screen space with Kartik Aaryan and Vidya Balan.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stepping down from 'Heroine'
In 2011, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was all set to star in Madhur Bhandarkar's film Heroine. However, just before shooting began, news broke that she was four months pregnant. This led to major controversy, with the production house, UTV Motion Pictures, deciding to stall the project indefinitely due to her pregnancy.
Reports emerged that filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar was unaware of her pregnancy and claimed that the production house faced losses of Rs 18 crore due to her exit. However, Aishwarya's father-in-law, Amitabh Bachchan, defended her, stating, "Every actor has the right to marry and start a family". He also said that such stipulations should not be part of any contract.
After Aishwarya stepped away, the role was eventually played by Kareena Kapoor Khan. Aishwarya welcomed her daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan, on November 16, 2011, and later made her comeback with films like Jazbaa and Ponniyin Selvan.
Kareena Kapoor Khan: balancing pregnancy and work
Kareena Kapoor Khan worked through her second pregnancy in 2021 while shooting for Laal Singh Chaddha. However, her first pregnancy in 2016 with her son Taimur Ali Khan was a different experience. At the time, she had already signed up for Veere Di Wedding, but after learning about her pregnancy, she told producer Rhea Kapoor to replace her with a younger actress.
Rhea, however, refused to let Kareena go and even considered rewriting the script to show her character six months pregnant. But due to the absence of maternity insurance in India, they had to stick to the original storyline. Kareena said, "There was no safeguard against suffering a mishap. So we scrapped the idea of shooting during pregnancy".
After her maternity leave, Kareena completed Veere Di Wedding, which went on to make over Rs 100 crore at the box office.
Sonam Kapoor: a hiatus before a grand return
Sonam Kapoor took a break from acting after welcoming her son, Vayu Kapoor Ahuja, on August 20, 2022. She announced her pregnancy in March 2022 and stepped away from the industry to focus on motherhood.
Now, as per reports from September 2024, Sonam is set to return with a major streaming project. Expressing her excitement, she said, "I'm super excited to face the camera again post my pregnancy. I love being an actor and I love living so many interesting characters through my profession".
Although she has not revealed details about the project, she confirmed that it is a "big" one and will begin filming early 2025.
Anita Hassanandani¡¯s break
Television actress Anita Hassanandani also stepped aside from her work after giving birth to her son in 2021. Speaking about her choice, she said, "I had decided that whenever I would have a child, I would leave the industry and let go of my work."
However, in June 2021, she took to her X account (Formerly Twitter) and posted: "It's all over that I'm quitting my first love ACTING. I never said that¡. All I said was that my focus right now is my child¡. Aaravv is my priority¡ I will resume work when I'm ready".
In July 2022, she took to her Instagram account to post a picture with her son and add "An actor's struggle is real¡ Didn't realise getting back to work post pregnancy will be so tough. What can I say¡.Wish me luck to starting from the start"
Anita returned to television with a show called Suman Indori after that.
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Nancy Jaiswal is a journalist who started her career in reporting and has covered both hard and soft news. From serious city news developments to lighthearted lifestyle pieces, she has written on almost everything hapenning in India (except maybe alien invasions¡ªyet!). For her, writing isn¡¯t just work; it¡¯s a passion, an obsession, and sometimes the reason she forgets to reply to texts.
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