BENGALURU: Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt on Monday took to Instagram to announce her pregnancy. Alia had tied the knot with Ranbir Kapoor in April this year.
The news of her pregnancy sent a wave of happiness in Bollywood corridors as a host of stars congratulated the couple, who will be seen together in Ayan Mukerji’s upcoming mega-budget extravaganza ‘Brahmastra’ that will hit the screens on September 9, 2022.
The New Indian looks at five top female actors who took hiatus after their marriage, gave birth to babies and made resounding comebacks.
1) Madhuri Dixit: Madhuri was arguably the most popular and biggest female star of Bollywood in the 1990s. Her peak years as a lead actor were from 1989 to 1997. In October 1999, she decided to get married to Sriram Nene, a doctor plying his trade in the United States and cut down on her assignments. Later, she relocated to Denver and on March 16 2003 gave birth to a son, Arin. Two years later, on 8 March 2005, she gave birth to her second son Ryan.
Madhuri did not work in any movie between 2002 and 2006 owing to her motherhood. In 2007, she appeared in the movie ‘Aaja Nachle’ but remained largely away from the silver screen till 2013. In 2014, she made a comeback with ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ and ‘Gulaab Gang’. Though the films weren’t huge hits, she received praise for her acting.
Madhuri was also seen in prominent roles in films such as ‘Total Dhamaal’ and ‘Kalank’.
2) Kajol: Just like Madhuri, Kajol married Ajay Devgn at the peak of her career in 1999. Though she didn’t walk away from films, she became uber selective. In 2001, after Karan Johar’s ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’, she took a break as she began to think about starting a family. She gave birth to her daughter Nysa on 20 April 2003 and looked after her for some years.
In 2006, she returned to the big screen with Yash Raj’s ‘Fanaa’ opposite Aamir Khan. Then in 2010, she once again appeared as a lead actor in Karan Johar’s ‘My Name Is Khan’. Over the years, Kajol has done other films as well but chooses to work with very limited people who are close to her.
3) Rani Mukerji: The rumours of her impending wedding with Aditya Chopra started swirling in 2008 which in a way hampered her career. Her long courtship with Chopra scion finally culminated in a wedding in 2014. The next year, the couple had a girl child who they named Adira.
After being away for four years from movies, Rani sallied back with ‘Hichki’ and ‘Mardaani 2’ in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Both the films did fair business at the ticket windows. Moreover, Rani’s performances were hugely appreciated and she was nominated for the Film Best Actress award for both films as well.
4) Juhi Chawla: The spunky Juhi Chawla got married to the industrialist Jay Mehta in 1995 but didn’t officially announce it for a few years as the wedding was deemed as a death knell for female actors during that time. Her decision to keep her marriage proved right as she continued to be the leading lady in films till 2000.
After her daughter Jhanvi was born in 2001, she didn’t do movies for almost two years but was back in the spotlight with ‘3 Deewarein’ and ‘Jhankaar Beats’ in 2003. Since then, she has continued to appear in character roles in a string of movies.
5) Raveena Tandon: Raveena Tandon had a bitter fallout with her then boyfriend Akshay Kumar in the late 1990s and eventually married the famous distributor Anil Thadani in 2004. In 2005, she gave birth to her daughter Rasha and in 2008 she became a mother to a son, Ranbirvardhan.
In the next decade, she featured in films such as ‘Maatr’, ‘Shab’ and ‘KGF – Chapter 2’. The first two bit the dust at the turnstiles, but ‘KGF – Chapter 2’ turned out to be a major money-spinner.