Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; November 14, 2017)

Tusshar Kapoor decided to opt for surrogacy and have a baby. That was last year. His son Laksshya is over a year-old now and like Tusshar admits, is the “happiest thing to have happened to him”. Unike most other dads in Bollywood, Tusshar is way more hands-on. Because he’s a single parent, the actor takes his responsibilites and daddy duties way more seriously. His happiness is evident, as we corner him for a quick chat on life post fatherhood. Over to the new daddy in town...

As a father, have your choices changed?
No, not at all. I don’t think like that at all. I’m not that kind of a dad. If my son doesn’t like my films, he doesn’t need to watch it. He has the right to make his own choices. He also has his grandfather’s movies. Woh sab ki filmein dekh sakta hai and not just mine. So he can watch whatever he likes. I don’t make movies for any personal reasons. I have never steered my career in any way because of that. I have always done films from an audience’s perspective. I don’t have that air ki ‘mera beta yeh nahi dekhega, woh nahi dekhega’.

Do you feel more settled in life now?
I feel very secure and settled, personally. Fatherhood has completed my life. Laksshya is a happy baby and my world seems more proper and more complete now with him. He transfers his happiness to me all the time.

Is your parenting style similar to your dad’s?
Not at all. I’m way more hands-on than him. He’s a typical Indian male where the man goes to work and the wife takes care of the kids. But again, it’s very different when you are a single parent. So I won’t compare. Maybe, if I were married, I wouldn’t have been so hands-on. My dad’s emotional but he’s more work-oriented because the family was his responsibility. I’m more of a father-cum-mother. I have to be.

How has Laksshya changed Ekta?
Laksshya’s mornings start with his bua. He wakes up and wants to go to her room. Because they are always up to some masti. He plays for half-an-hour with her and now, Ekta’s routines have completely changed. Her mornings are dedicated to Lakshhya. She also keeps saying that starting the day with him makes her feel the day will go well for her. Everyone knows that over the years, Ekta has calmed down so much. As a producer, she has settled down. She’s come into her own as a human being and this has changed her even more. She feels more complete. Lakshhya is like Ekta’s firstborn, too.

How was it having Laksshya on the sets?
I couldn’t bring him on the YRF sets because there was too much loban. I couldn’t take him to Ramoji as well because it was too hot in April. But I had him on set a lot, in and around the van. In YRF, we used to roam around in that area. He used to come every day — not to the sets but around — when we used to shoot. Laksshya is the most Bollywood-ised baby of 2017. I just hope he grows up to see 15-20 Golmaals and this was anyway the first film I showed him. It’s so kid-friendly. So, before the release, one day he was watching cartoons on TV and suddenly a promo of Golmaal Again played and he was like, ‘Ae, papa!’ (laughs). He is only 16-months but he’s quite smart. He knows all the animals and everything. I took him to the sets where he was with me, watching all of us as well.

How did you balance work and fatherhood while shooting?
I was very nervous before I started shooting, thinking kaise hoga. I used to think I’d have to wake up at 5 am, sit with him from 6 am for two hours before I get ready for shoot. So, yes, I used to wake up and sometimes leave without seeing him or just spend half-an-hour with him and leave. That separation time is also very healthy, I am told. Also, shooting for Golmaal Again has been really easy because, luckily, the set in Mumbai was close to home and the outdoor was in Hyderabad and not a foreign country.

Laksshya would always come to the sets around 4.30-5 pm. Maybe, Rohit (Shetty) would plan it that way but the moment he used to come, there would be a break on the sets — either the lights needed to be changed or something had to be done. So, I used to be with him and roam around with him in the outdoor area. At 6-6.30 pm, they’d ask me to get ready for the shot in half-an-hour.

Laksshya and Taimur look like friends already. Has your relationship with Bebo also evolved after parenthood?
It’s the same. We don’t meet that often. Now, thanks to our kids, at least we meet every now and then. The kids are not really aware because they still don’t know each other. At this age, they are just happy playing with each other. They are just familiar with the face. They are too young to recognise that strongly and miss each other. Taimur and Laksshya are at an age where they want to be around each other to just play. The whole sharing and playing, with these kids only, will come when they are two-three.

Like both of you, your kids are also going to be best friends then...
That completely depends on what school they go to. Kids make friends at schools, colleges and then in the profession that they choose. It’s too filmi to predict that Laksshya and Taimur will be best friends too. People like assuming things and that’s fine. I grew up with a lot of my father’s friends’ kids. I had Riddhima Kapoor Sahni, Goldie Behl, Hrithik Roshan and today, we’re just family friends. We have our own groups.

Why didn’t you get Laksshya to do a cameo in Golmaal Again like AbRam did in Happy New Year?
No, he’s too young to make a cameo; maybe in the next Golmaal film (laughs). Iss baar kisi ne puchha hi nahi, offer nahi aaya! He was anyway on the sets. If someone had asked me, I’d have given it a thought.

Have you thought about a school for him yet?
I take him to a pre-playschool. This is even before playschool begins next year. Right now, he is just 16-months-old. We used to start with nursery. But, now, there’s this parent toddler thing, which I take him to, thrice a week. I have never missed any of those sessions with him. I am still contemplating about which school to send him to, but I have decided on the playschool. That is near my house so it’ll be convenient.