As Esha Deol has embraced pregnancy for the second time, the actress admits marriage and motherhood have changed her completely. To begin with, the 37-year-old actress says she was more like a tomboy and was told the same by everyone around her. She further adds how she detested cooking and couldn’t see herself there.

“Actually, I was very committed to my professional commitments and would like to concentrate on my profession with my heart but the kitchen was never a place that I would love to be.” So, you hated cooking? Esha laughs aloud and admits, “Yes, I never liked cooking at all. Earlier, I wouldn’t even know how to boil and fry potatoes.”  

But, things seem to have changed for Esha after her marriage and she too bets her money on the old saying that the way to your husband’s heart is through his stomach. “I have started cooking and learning to make the dishes he relishes for the love of my husband. Husband ke liye toh yeh sab karna hi padta hai (You have to do it for your husband). Bharat is a non-vegetarian while I am not but you have to cook the dishes that he likes... So, I have started cooking the dishes that Bharat relishes to eat like Goan prawn curry. Undeniably, I first started learning the food I loved to eat. I also love baked stuff so I learned baking first and needless to say, I started with baking cakes,” says Esha who explored cooking while she was dating Bharat Takhtani. “I must give Bharat the credit for making me like cooking,” she adds.

So, is that the reason for her turning into a chef in her second innings as an actress? “No! It is not so. Actually, this short film titled Cakewalk’s story has a pinch of reality. When debutant director Ram Kamal Mukherjee came up with this concept and narrated me the story, I found it interesting and appealing. I told him clearly to bring up the story exactly the way it has been narrated to me and I am happy he has done justice to the story. Also, life is not a cake walk. This is something no one has yet touched upon. This story will also impart a few lessons to the girls who wish to fulfil their dreams,” reveals Esha.

Coming back to motherhood, Esha feels happy as a mother and says, “In the process of turning to motherhood, you start learning so many things which you do not realise earlier. Somehow, I feel complete now. In the coming years, one has to be a grandmother and all that too. Life has to go on celebrating different relationships in life. Right now, I strongly feel — that girl in me sitting there has completely become a woman now.” She further adds that after the birth of her first daughter Radhya, her maturity level has grown and she is no more a tomboy.

A few days ago, Esha also took the #10YearChallenge and shared a picture on Instagram of her abs next to her baby bump from the first pregnancy. Commenting on her fitness regime, she says, “I am still a fitness freak. Just that I am pregnant so I can’t really push into fitness so much. Dancing too is a break and last year I performed for Ramanaya, a dance show, enacted as Sita.”

Since Esha is pregnant for the second time, what experience has she gathered from her first pregnancy? “When you are pregnant for the first time, you don’t know anything about the process. You are so naive. You do not even understand nor do you have any clue as to what’s going on… it is a strange feeling altogether,” she says and adds, “In reality, you get slightly confused because so many people start giving you so many pieces of advice. You just don’t understand what to take and what to filter out. But, now being pregnant, I feel comfortable and taking everything in my stride this time since being experienced, I can handle it well. Every woman needs to take it as a part and parcel of their life.”

On the work front, Esha says, “We have endless potential, let us not stop ourselves. I have a few things on the professional front, which I shall update at the right time. So, you guys need to wait.”

Esha has been missing from the screen for long, does she not miss facing camera? “Every actor does miss facing the cameras. If they say ‘no’ then they are surely lying. We love being on the sets, the adrenal rush that you get is really different. After going on a break, that too a long break, it is a little difficult to handle for sure.” And, when are we going to see Esha along with her parents Hema Malini and Dharmendra in a film? She laughs aloud and says, “That will be like a dream project for us… Someone needs to go to papa and narrate a story to him.”