Shaheer Sheikh: I always wanted a girl. It has been my dream to be a dad
Actor Shaheer Sheikh, who became a father on Sept 10, shares that being a parent is a big responsibility; adds he has always loved kids.
Being a parent is a big responsibility,” says new dad Shaheer Sheikh. The actor and his wife Ruchikaa Kapoor welcomed a baby girl on Sept 10. Talking to us, he says, “It has been my dream to be a dad. I always wanted a girl and told Ruchikaa so, whenever she asked.”
Sheikh reveals his friends always call him a principal and think of him as the “responsible one” at every party. He adds, “I will be the one to remind people not to be too loud or don’t do this. My friends tease me. I was excited to know (about the pregnancy) as I have always loved kids. I have three nieces and one nephew and I have taken care of them for months, some from the day they were born. It is just so amazing. I can be myself when I am around kids. I don’t know why but many guys don’t feel or express these feelings. Childbirth is the biggest miracle on earth. It is the most beautiful process. When you feel the kick, it is just so wonderful. Women are looked after during pregnancies, and rightly so as they go through so much, but the men, too, should get some attention as a father goes through a lot emotionally as well. In India, men are supposed to be strong, not supposed to share or have emotions. I am not that kind of person and express myself.”
Ask him what kind of a dad he would be and Sheikh says he has no idea. “I might spoil my child. But I also know that I will never force my thoughts or views on my child,” he says.
Talking about a question he answered during a modelling pageant, Sheikh recalls, “I was asked, ‘what would you do if you wake up as a woman one day?’. I replied, ‘I would love to be pregnant’. That answer came spontaneously without hesitation! Man’s biggest limitation is that he can never give birth to a child. It is a superpower that only women have. Women are stronger than men to deal with childbirth physically and emotionally.”
The actor was shooting two projects, Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi 2 and Pavitra Rishta, in the last couple of months and couldn’t spend as much time as he had hoped to with his wife. Now, he plans to take some paternity leave to be with the mother and child. He shares, “The plan was not to do anything a few months before and after the delivery but due to the lockdown, projects got pushed and I had to shoot for two shows simultaneously. In the first trimester, I was at home and I tried to spend as much time as possible at home.”
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