Pooja Bedi recently opened up about her unconventional childhood, revealing how her parents—actor Kabir Bedi and legendary classical dancer model Protima Bedi—raised her with complete freedom and very few rules. Interestingly, the actor also admitted that although he grew up in an open environment, he eventually became a more strict parent himself.Speaking on Jos Alukkas’ YouTube channel, Pooja reflected on her “ultra-bohemian” upbringing and shared how her mother believed children should be empowered to make their own choices.
“Whether you want to be a hippy or an astronaut, choose your path”
Recalling her childhood, Pooja said her parents never pressured her to follow a specific career or lifestyle.“I grew up in a family that was ultra-bohemian. I think my parents heralded the whole flower power movement in India, the space-type revolution of everything you know in the sex, drugs, rock and roll era.”He added that happiness, rather than professional ambition, had always been the guiding principle in their home.“Our path was never defined by career paths. Our path was always determined by the quotient of happiness and it was always about what made us happy,” he said.Pooja then remembered the advice her mother often gave her about independence and self-reliance.“My mother used to say, ‘Honey, I put you on this planet because I wanted to be a parent. Because of my own selfish reasons you are here now I owe you. I owe you a home, a roof over your head. I owe you food to keep your belly full. I owe you a great education to empower yourself. I owe you that experience to always have that experience.”He also recalled that his mother had told him that luxuries should be earned independently.“You want your luxuries to go and earn well, and it’s all about whether you want to be a beachgoer, you want to be a hippie, you want to be an engineer, you want to be an astronaut, whatever you want to be in your life you choose your path. Your bases are covered because I put you here.”
“You never told me what to wear or when I’m coming home”
While Pooja appreciates the freedom she received as a child, she admits that her parenting style was very different.“I’m a very strict parent. I think every generation skipped two generations and then that mother boss came back,” she laughed.As the actor explains, many children absorb or rebel against the way they are brought up, and in his case, he reacted against the extreme freedom he experienced.“I think a lot of parts of me refused the incredible freedom I was given, when I went to my mother as a child and said, ‘You know mom, you know you’re a bad parent. You never told me what to wear.’Pooja said she often asked her mother about not having any rules or restrictions in her life.“I wear the smallest skirt. You don’t tell me to wear longer things. I go out and I don’t think who I’m going out with. You don’t ask me what time I come back. I don’t have a destination. I don’t have a schedule. You don’t tell me what to eat.”
“Do you want torque?”
Pooja revealed that her mother’s answer stuck forever as it reflected complete confidence in her opinion.“So he looked at me and said, ‘Do you want me to ask you all that? He said, ‘Aren’t you smart enough to figure all these things out for yourself?'”Protima, according to Pooja, believed that children should be brought up to make responsible decisions independently.“‘Don’t you think I’ll believe that I raised you with a high level of understanding, that you know what’s right, what’s wrong, where to draw the line, how much to drink, who to go out with, who not to go out with, what time you should be at home because you have a day tomorrow. These are very independent decisions, I’d like to believe that I led you to be.” So I had no answer for that,” Pooja recalls.
