'I think of him every day': Mandira Bedi on husband Raj Kaushal's death

Bollywood actress and renowned TV anchor Mandira Bedi spokeabout her life after the sudden death of her husband Raj Kaushal. The filmmaker passed away in June 2021 after suffering a fatal heart attack.

After maintaining silencefor almost three years, Bedi has opened up about losing her husband, the tough phase of her life, the challenges and a lot more.

During her conversation with Humans of Bombay, Bedi shared that the first year was the most difficult.

“The only way out is through. Of course, my children and I think of him every day. It’s not like we’ve forgotten him. The first year was very, very, very, very hard. The first of everything is just impossible to deal with. The first birthday, the first anniversary, the first Diwali, the first Christmas, the first New Year. The second one is a little bit easier, the third one is a little bit easier…," said Bedi.

Talking about how she processed her husband's death, Mandira shared that during the tough phase, she kept herself immersed inwork.

Getting emotional, Mandira shared that things are still in process andtalked about taking therapy. “There are moments when we remember him because of a song. I’ve done the therapy I’ve needed to, there are times I still do it. As human beings, we are always a work in progress… What I can do now is talk about it. It makes me emotional, but I can. There was a time I couldn’t. But I won’t break down… I started working two months after it happened… I have to support my family and myself. I need to do it for my children,” she said.

Sharing that there are so many things that she will grief the rest of her life, Mandira said that she can't listen to Kishore Kumar's music.

“It’s been six years that I’ve had his car. And I have to sell it now. I’d been holding onto it for emotional reasons, and now I’m going to shed a tear when it goes. So, it’s a work in progress. I’ve dealt with the bulk of it, but for the rest of my life, I’ll always grieve him. One thing I still can’t do, is that I can’t listen to Kishore Kumar music,” teary Mandira said.

Kaushal and Bedi got married in 1999. The couple had two children, son Vir and a daughter Tara.

For the unversed, Kaushal was a known producer and director. He has backed movies like Onir's 2005 acclaimed drama My Brother Nikhil, starring Sanjay Suri and Juhi Chawla, and 2006 thriller, Anthony Kaun Hai?, starring Arshad Warsi and Sanjay Dutt among others.

(With agency inputs)