Kabir Bedi Regrets not spending more Time with his Children

Established Indian actor Kabir Bedi has opened up about how his first divorce impacted his children.

Kabir married Protima Gupta in 1969, and they had two children, Pooja Bedi and Siddharth Bedi, before their split in 1974.

Kabir Bedi’s daughter Pooja Bedi is the mother of Bollywood actress Alaya F.

Siddharth Bedi passed away by suicide in 1997 after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Kabir spoke about his relationship with his children during an Instagram Live with his granddaughter Alaya F.

In the conversation, posted on Thursday, July 1, 2021, he also revealed how he regrets not spending more time with them.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvxi5xp1FO/

In the video, Alaya F said that her mother Pooja told her stories about when she and Siddharth would visit their father in the US.

Alaya then asked her grandfather what it was like to juggle life with his children during his stint in Hollywood.

Kabir Bedi said:

“Whenever there’s a divorce it’s always a tragedy and the biggest sufferers are the children.

“But even though I divorced your nani, I never ever divorced my children.

“So the children had to be brought to be in their vacations or I would fly from America.

“So there was no sacrifice involved, there was a cost involved but that didn’t matter.

“What mattered was spending time with them. Whenever there’s a divorce people always talk about quality time… but quantity is also important.”

While on the subject of spending time with his children, Kabir Bedi said that he regrets not being able to make more time for Pooja and Siddharth.

The actor said:

“One of my great regrets is that I couldn’t give enough quantity time.

“So I tried to make it up by having the best time I could with them when they came.

“And that’s what mattered to me. Being able to have that time with them and make the most of it.”

Kabir Bedi talks about his relationships a lot in his new autobiography, titled Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor.

According to the book, Kabir and Protima had an “open marriage”. However, he admits the relationship caused him anxiety, leading him into the arms of his former lover Parveen Babi.

An excerpt from Kabir Bedi’s autobiography read:

“Our open marriage may have seemed like a good idea at first. In the end, it only caused me greater anxiety.

“It had led to a lack of intimacy between us. I didn’t feel the love that I wanted, the caring and sharing I needed. Nor was I able to give it.

“The old magic had gone. I was feeling alone, empty and dejected. Parveen Babi filled that void.

“She was a ravishingly beautiful actress with fair skin, long black hair and dark, mesmerising eyes.”