Raveena Tandon recalls media reports claiming Pooja, Chaya were her ‘hidden’ children: ‘They said I must have had the kids out of wedlock’

“Some ‘well-meaning’ aunties asked who will marry me now, because I come with excess baggage. I was like, whoever loves me will love me, my girls, my dogs, my cat, and whoever I come with,” the actor said adding that it was the only condition she had maintained when she started dating her now-husband Anil Thadani. “I come with my entire gang, that’s what I told him,” she added.

Regarding her decision to adopt Pooja and Chaya, Raveena Tandon said,  “When I came off the legal age, I saw my cousin’s kids not getting the kind of lives they should have had as, unfortunately, their parents were no more. And I thought, I keep doing this for other NGOs, but here are two children whom I have seen born in front of me. I felt like it was time they got a better life. So, I got them home. So, the minute I turned 21, I became their legal guardian.”

“Sometimes I feel like I was born to be a mother. Ever since I was a child, I have always had a very emotional, compassionate streak. Every time I went with my mom to orphanages, when she used to be helping other NGOs, I used to see these little babies and I always wanted to bring a baby home. So, I think that instinct was there in me right from the beginning,” she added.

Apart from Rasha, Pooja and Chaya, Raveena Tandon and Anil Thadani have one more child — Ranbirvardhan. When Zoom asked her how she adapted to the changes motherhood went through in the 90s and 2000s, the actor said, “When my girls came to me, they were eight and 11. So yes, I had to deal with that teenage, rebellious phase wherein they used to argue and fight with me. However, since the age difference was not so much, I think we ended up being very good friends.”

“I think it all depends on the way you bring up your kids. If you keep putting it in their head that there is a generation gap and such things, stuff won’t work. There were so many things that my mom used to tell me… then I started telling these things to Pooja and Chaya. Now, they have Rasha and Ranbir. So, Pooja and Chaya are now telling these things to Rasha and Ranbir. Then I see Rasha saying these things to Rudra and Jaden. So, it has passed through generations and I hope that we can keep that quality of upbringing amongst our line of family,” she added.