Mahesh Bhatt's teenage romance with Britisher, Lorraine Bright had blossomed into love, and the two had got married in 1968 as per Arya Samaj traditions. After four years of marital bliss, Mahesh and Lorraine had welcomed their daughter, Pooja Bhatt. However, in the 70s, Mahesh's extra-marital affair with the actress, Parveen Babi had hit the headlines, leading to trouble in his and Lorraine's marriage.
During the course of Mahesh and Parveen's romance, Lorraine had distanced herself from him. Parveen and Mahesh's relationship had ended after two and a half years, and with the mutual decision, he and Lorraine too had parted their ways. It was during the filming of Saaransh when Mahesh had met Soni Razdan, who was a budding actress then. After dating each other secretly, Mahesh and Soni had tied the knot in 1986. They were blessed with two daughters, Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt.
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Even though Soni Razdan is Pooja Bhatt's stepmother, the latter shares a great bond with Alia and Shaheen. In a throwback interview with India Today, Pooja had revealed how Soni had confessed her guilt in marrying Mahesh Bhatt.
Speaking about the same, Pooja had shared:
"I grew up with a father who supposedly went on to marry somebody else and have another family. I do not feel that way. In fact, I was very moved one day. Soni and I were on a reiki to Coonoor and she was sitting outside and she said, 'Pooja I want to tell you I felt so guilty."
However, it was Pooja's reply to Soni, which had assured her about her decision. Calming Soni, Pooja had revealed how her father's first marriage to Lorraine was already dead. In her words:
"I said, 'Soni why do you need to feel guilty? You never broke any marriage up.' That marriage was long dead."
Even after the separation, Mahesh had stayed legally wedded to Lorraine since he didn't want to alienate his kids, Pooja and Rahul. Since he couldn’t divorce Lorraine, Mahesh had converted his faith to marry Soni in a secret wedding. In an interview with the Stardust magazine, Pooja Bhatt had revealed that before her mother and anyone else, Mahesh had told her about his affair with Soni Razdan. Pooja had shared:
"Once I was fast asleep and at around one-thirty in the morning he woke me up from my deep slumber and told me, ‘Pooja I’m seeing another woman. I’m having an affair with her and I want you to know first’. This was even before my mom knew of it. So that shows how open and honest he is with me. "
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In the same interview, Pooja had also revealed how she used to hate Soni, for snatching away her father. And it was her mom, Lorraine, who had changed her hatred towards Soni. Speaking about the same, Pooja had retorted:
"Initially, I did resent my dad for leaving my mother for another woman. I also used to hate Soni for snatching away dad from us. In fact, there used to be times when I used to flare-up at the very mention of her name. It was my mother who made me understand and think practically. She would tell me not to resent or hate my father for anything for basically he is a good man at heart.”
Mahesh Bhatt's family is the perfect example of a modern relationship, and it is a delight to see the cordial bond between the half-siblings.
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