Interview | ‘Harbhajan is a hands-on dad’

Geeta Basra Singh, the British-born Indian film actress who appeared in several Bollywood films married Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh in 2015.

Now, Geeta will pair up for a show with husband Harbhajan — who’s also had his share of screen time in commercials and films like Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004) and a recent Tamil film called Friendship (2021).
The duo’s show will start in April/May next year, but for now, having delivered their second baby, a boy they’ve named Jovan Veer Singh Plaha, Geeta has her hands full. (Her first child, a daughter, is called Hinaya Heer Plaha.) By the time they begin work, her second child will be about a year old and Geeta hopes she’d have had ample time to spend with him before it’s time for her and her husband to jump back into work.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q How’s the marriage between a cricketer and an actor working out?
Well, Harbhajan and I met through a friend and began dating 11 months later and now it’s been 14 years. As for cricketers marrying actresses or those in the glitz and glamour world, both of them have a career graph, working in unconventional jobs that are not 9-to-5. And they’re both in the public eye, not only on the field but also in commercials and in styling and modeling. So I think both of them can empathise with each other’s jobs and see the possibility of a life together.

Q Your opinion on inculcating values in your children?
I feel it’s very important to start with it right from their childhood so that kids inculcate discipline at an early age — starting with their bedtime, meal times, etc. I believe children shouldn’t get into the habit of getting up late in the mornings. I did routine-setting with Hinaya, my first child, right from her early ages; her screen time is just one hour in the evening. We try to keep them active with outdoor games and she seems inclined towards sports and acting, she loves dancing, running around, sports and playing outdoors.

Q Does Harbhajan pitch in?
Though he’s busy travelling now, Harbhajan has always been a hands-on dad and loves his kids a lot and is deeply attached with them. And, of course, Harbhajan as a husband is different from how he was as a boyfriend given the responsibilities that’s added on to him as the former. He’s even more grounded and patient now.

Q What’s your ‘me-time’ ritual?
I manage with very little for now, especially since I have Jovan. After he goes off to sleep, I have an hour or so to myself after 11 pm. Then, I either read or watch TV.

Q Had you both hoped to have a daughter and son?
Neither Harbhajan nor I are gender-biased at all and we’re happy with a boy and a girl. In fact, both my daughter and son will have the same privileges. Girls today are way ahead of boys and it’s a part of what I tell my daughter — that she has to be independent enough to be on her own feet and can do whatever she wishes to do. I also hope to raise my son so that he respects girls. Both my kids will grow up learning basic life skills, like cooking, cleaning, raising kids, etc.