I wanted to be a single parent, my dream has come true..
These are the words of Tusshar Kapoor, Bollywood's comic hero and now a proud father to a week old baby boy- Laksshya who was born through an IVF procedure conducted by Dr. Firuza Parikh at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. This bold step received the kind of social support even Tusshar wouldn't have expected- the entire film fraternity and scores of fans took to social media to congratulate Bollywood's very first single father. Even the new daddy's daddy, Jitendra looked ecstatic in his photographs with the new born.
Standup comic and actress, Kaneez Surka applauded his decision, tweeting:
Genelia D'Souza and Ritesh Deshmukh also shared in the actor's happiness:
It must need a lot of gall to do something like that, I reflected. After all, in a country that takes pride in its culture and concept of family, going public about such a decision could have caused backlash too. However, Tusshar had just the answer we were looking for:
I never thought about courage, it's just your paternal instinct. When you are mentally ready and have decided that you want to be a parent, then you want to go ahead, whether you want to get married or be a single parent that's each to his own.
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Author, journalist and socialite Shobha De congratulated him, pointing out the impact of his actions:
Tusshar follows in the footsteps of Bollywood celebrities like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan, all of whom took the surrogacy route to have children. Even the list of international celebrities who have chosen to use this method is impressive-from Nicole Kidman to Jessica Parker even Robert De Niro have all welcomed babies born through surrogacy into their homes. This definitely is a positive reinforcement for millions of youngsters around the world, who are apprehensive in taking this unconventional, though increasingly popular route. When a celebrity or public figure takes a step forward, a new discourse for dialogue opens up in that direction.
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Sarah Jessica Parker with her twin girls who were born through surrogacy( Picture Credit: dnaindia.com)
Talking to the media at his residence, Tusshar Kapoor said:
It's wonderful that in India also now, not just me, but tonnes and tonnes of men and women who are trying to be single parents and doing so successfully
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ShethePeopleTV got in touch with IVF specialist Dr. Firuza Parikh, who has handled many high profile IVF cases successfully. Here us what she had to say :
In the past 15 years, there have been sporadic cases ofsingle women wanting to undergo this procedure. The trend for men has been just two years, though with Tussar coming out openly and with so much grace, we can expect more men to come forward.
There is one man to 9 women who is going for single parenting, she tells us. Talking about the nature of law related to these, Dr. Parikh shares:
The law in out country is neither obstructive nor facilitative, for the simple reason that there is no law that tells you that single individual cannot become a parent
Where our country and its society struggles with parental responsibility on caregiving, Tusshar's decision to go public about his single parenthood is a clear statement that it is not just the women who can or should think about forwarding the lineage. So go for it, guys! Be your own person and don't wait for the right partner to come by and determine when you can become a parent. Science allows you to do it, after all!
Feature Image Credit: topyaps.com
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