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 actress also admitted that despite growing up in such an open environment, she eventually became a much stricter parent herself.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.
‘You want to be a hippie or astronaut, choose your path’
Recalling her childhood, Pooja said her parents never pressured her to follow a specific career path or lifestyle.“I grew up in a family that was ultra-Bohemian. I think my parents heralded the entire flower power movement in India, the whole you know the revolution of the sex, drugs, rock and roll era kind of space.”She added that happiness, rather than professional ambition, was always the guiding principle in their home.“Our path was never determined by professional trajectories. Our path was always determined by the happiness quotient and it was always about what made us happy,” she said.Pooja then remembered advice her mother often gave her about independence and self-reliance.“My mother used to say, ‘Darling, I have put you on this planet because I wanted to be a parent. For my selfish reasons you are now here I owe you. I owe you a home, roof over your head. I owe you food right so that your stomach is full. I owe you great education so that you can empower yourself. I owe you experiences so you know what to pick from so you’ll always have that.’”She further recalled her mother telling her that luxuries had to be earned independently.“You want your luxuries you go and earn it right and the whole thing was you want to be a beach bum, you want to be a hippie, you want to be an engineer, you want to be an astronaut, whatever it is you want to be in your life you choose your path. Your basics are covered because I put you here.”
‘You never tell me what to wear or when to come home’
While Pooja cherishes the freedom she received as a child, she admitted that her own parenting style turned out to be vastly different.“I’m a very strict parent. I think every generation skipped two generations and then that ruling mother came back,” she said with a laugh.The actress explained that many children either absorb or rebel against the way they are raised, and in her case, she reacted against the extreme freedom she experienced.“I think many parts of me rejected the incredible freedom I was given because I remember when I was a child I went to my mother and I said, ‘You know mama, you know you’re a really bad parent. You never tell me what to wear’.”Pooja said she often questioned her mother about the absence of rules or restrictions in her life.“I wear tiniest of skirts. You don’t say wear longer things. I go out and I do not think who I’m going out with. You don’t ask me what time I’m coming back. I don’t have no curfew. I have no curfew timing. You don’t tell me what to eat.”
‘You want a curfew?’
Pooja revealed that her mother’s response stayed with her forever because it reflected complete trust in her judgement.“So she looked at me and says, ‘You want me to ask you all of that? You want a curfew?’ She said, ‘Aren’t you intelligent enough to decide all these things for yourself?’”Protima, according to Pooja, believed children should be raised to make responsible decisions independently.“‘Don’t you think I would like to believe that I brought you up with a great level of understanding that you know for yourself what is right, what is 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 home because you have a day tomorrow. These are very intelligent independent decisions I would like to believe I brought you up to be.’ So I didn’t have an answer for that,” Pooja recalled.