Image shared on Instagram. (Courtesy: poojab1972 )
Actress Pooja Bhatt, who was last seen as a contestant in Bigg Boss OTT season 2, in a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, spoke at length about the unwarranted attention that was given to the magazine cover in 1990 where she was seen kissing her dad Mahesh Bhatt on the lips. Elaborating on the issues, the Bombay Begums star asserted that the moment that was captured was "absolutely innocent." On being asked if she regrets the photo shoot, Pooja Bhatt was quick to reply, "No, because I see it very simple, and I think that unfortunately jo hota hai (what happens is), a frozen moment can be represented and misrepresented in anyway. Aur mujhe yaad hai Shah Rukh ne mujhe yeh kaha tha when you have daughters, jab hi aapke bacche chote hai (I remember Shah Rukh had told me that when you have daughters and when your child is small), how often a child just says, ‘Mummy papa give me a kiss'. And they go this way. Main ab bhi is umar mein bhi wahi 10 pound ki bacchi hoon for my father. Vo jindagi bher wahi rahege for me (At this age also I am still a 10 pound child for my father. He will always remain that way for me)."
Calling out the media for viewing the picture in an inappropriate way, Pooja Bhatt further said, "So it was a moment that was absolutely innocent which was captured. Aur uske connotation jo hai, jinko padhna hai vo padhge, jinko dekhna hai vo dekhege. Aur main is cheej ko defend karne nahi baithi. Agar log baap aur beti ke rishte ko alag najariye se dekh sakte hai toh vo kuch bhi kar sakte hai. Fir hum baat karte hai family values ki. Bahut kamal ka joke hai (Whatever its connotations, people may read it as they want, they will see it as they wish I cannot defend it here. If you want to see the relation between a father and a daughter in a different way then you can do anything. And then we talk about family values. What an amazing joke)."
While in Bigg Boss House, Pooja Bhatt was visited by her dad Mahesh Bhatt, who shared several anecdotes from his life. He also opened up about how Pooja became the bread earner in his family during tough times.
He revealed that during his struggling phase, Pooja stepped up and became the backbone of the family. She took the initiative to pursue a modelling career and auditioned for numerous ads. Her efforts and success in the modelling world played a crucial role in running the household during those difficult days.
In another episode of Bigg Boss OTT 2, Pooja Bhatt discussed her equation with her former husband. “He is a very good human being, he's Capricorn and that's why we got along very well. When we start speaking a lie, the blame game starts and I didn't want that. Whatever was there was very good till the time it lasted. Till the time dignity was there we were together. Then we parted ways on a good note,” she said. They were married from 2003 to 2014.
Pooja is Mahesh Bhatt's daughter with Kiran Bhatt Aka Lorraine Bright who he married in 1970. Kiran and Mahesh also have a son named Rahul. In 1986, Mahesh married Soni Razdan with whom he has two daughters Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt.