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“I was told to wear Indian clothes and change my identity”


“I was told to wear Indian clothes and change my identity”

Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Women Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix and this time there's plenty of new drama thanks to the new additions. But this season of the show also delves deeper into the lives of the OG Bollywood women. Neelam Kothari, who is now happily married to actor Samir Soni, opened up to Ektaa R Kapoor about her toxic marriage, her divorce and its impact on her daughter Ahana. Recalling details of how hostile her marriage became, she said: “I was told to wear Indian clothes, avoid eating vegetables and not drink alcohol. I was fine with everything, but changing my identity was something I didn't want to do.” Okay, I got to a point where I asked myself, “How do I let this happen?”

She also added that she would give up her then identity as an actress to make her marriage work. “I used to be in a supermarket or having lunch and someone would come up to me and ask, 'Are you Neelam, the actress?' I had to say no,” she said.

After some time, she made the difficult decision to end the marriage. “It was hard, but I wanted it to work. Because you do crazy things out of love. “I don’t think any woman on this earth should ever have to deal with that – the loss of their identity,” she said.

The actress also shared how her daughter found out about the divorce online and mentioned that she shouldn't have found out this way. Recalling the moment, she said, “I came home from work and Ahana was with her friends. They usually jump around, scream and yell. But this time there was pinpoint silence. Ahana came to me and asked, 'Mom, you never told me that you were divorced.'”

“I just died. I was at a loss, I was at a loss for words,” Neelam shared how disturbing this moment was for her as a mother. “Ahana said, 'No, you are a celebrity and my friends and I googled you. The first thing that came to mind was that you were divorced. You were married.' “The first thing that came to mind was that I didn't want my daughter to find out this way,” she added.

Neelam Kothari married Rishi Sethia, a UK-based businessman, in October 2000, which ended after the toxic behavior pattern. In 2011, she married Samir Soni and in 2013, the couple adopted Ahana together.



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