Neha Dhupia on her kids celebrating their first Raksha Bandhan: We will make Guriq tie rakhi to Mehr too

For actor Neha Dhupia, the relevance of the festival of Raksha Bandhan has increased ever since she became a mother, and has planned a “sweet little celebration” for this year’s festivities, considering it is the first Rakhi of her kids — daughter Mehr and son Guriq.

This year, Dhupia has planned two celebrations, an intimate one with her kids at her home, and a bit delayed one with her brother, Hardeep, with the extended family over the weekend.

“This year, since the festival is in the middle of the week, my brother has to work. We will be celebrating it later over the weekend when kids and cousins are a bit more free. So, the big Rakhi celebration will be over the weekend, not on the day. Even though it will be a delayed merriment, there’s still going to be love and laugh,” says Dhupia.

** FOR ONLINE **Coming to the special plans with her kids, the 41-year-old reveals, “It’s Guriq’s first Rakhi… And it will be done both ways. Mehr (her daughter) will tie Rakhi to Guriq and Guriq will also tie Rakhi to Mehr”. “They both are in their own little school programs. Mehr has done some DIY Rakhi stuff and brought it back home, and she’s super excited about it. And then we have staff at home, which is like a family to us, and we will tie Rakhi to them as well. It will be a sweet little celebration, and actually it goes beyond brother and sister. It shows that everyone has the ability to protect the other person. That’s what it means in our family more than anything else”. **ONLINE BIT ENDS HERE*

Opening up about the relevance of the festival, the Sanak actor shares, “The meaning and relevance of Rakshabandhan has always been one that has been of love. Like me and my brother have this relationship that it doesn’t matter how much time we don’t see each other, if we get consumed with our lives, we can totally fall back on each other. The support is endless, and it’s not changed,” Dhupia says while opening up about the festival.

She has always been “all about festivals”, and the feeling has heightened after she became a mother. “I make sure that every festival that we have in our country, we try to celebrate it. I want my children to be very well acquainted. That’s why we really harp on the importance of festivals. Before marriage, Angad (her husband Angad Bedi) was lowkey on festivals. Now, he also gets excited about it and sits and teaches the kids about it,” reveals Dhupia.

The one thing she plans to do when she meets her brother is “stuff his face with sweets”. A

“Through the year, we are so much about fitness, so on a festival like Rakhi, we really go overboard with feeding the other person sweets. It’s like stuffing each other’s face with the calories,” she laughs.

And that’s the fun bon she hopes her kids also have in the future. “The bond is one of respect and not judging and always having each other’s back. That’s the relationship me and my brother have. It is not so much as to what you are doing (for each other), but it is more about how you are doing, which is always because we care and we love each other. I want and I’m hoping that Mehr and Guriq have the same bond,” she gushes.

Talking about the special plans with her kids, the 41-year-old reveals, “It’s Guriq’s first Rakhi… And it will be done both ways. Mehr (her daughter) will tie Rakhi to Guriq and Guriq will also tie Rakhi to Mehr”. She adds, “They both are in their own little school programs. Mehr has done some DIY Rakhi stuff and brought it back home, and she’s super excited about it. And then we have staff at home, which is like a family to us, and we will tie Rakhi to them as well. It will be a sweet little celebration, and actually it goes beyond brother and sister. It shows that everyone has the ability to protect the other person. That’s what it means in our family more than anything else”.