...son Jeh was born in 2021.
'There was a moment of like, "Oh, my God. I have to go back and do this all over again".'
'But it was just like for a flash of a second.'
'Then, it was just like, "No, it's fine. I'm still looking fab".'
Kareena Kapoor Khan wants to be fit to take on whatever comes with old age, so that she's able to work and enjoy family life for as long as possible.
The 44-year-old actor was speaking at the launch of her nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar's book,The Commonsense Diet.
Kareena, who shares sons Taimur and Jeh with Saif Ali Khan, said she wants to be able to go about her daily life without being dependent on 'someone or a stick'.
"Age is just a number," she said.
"I want to always be fit to take on whatever old age brings. I want to be able to do what I have to do, whether I have to go to set also at the age of 70, 75. I want to keep working all my life. I want to be able to bend to pick up my grandchildren. So for that, I need to eat right with her (Diwekar's) guidance."
Eating healthy, exercising and yoga are all about the way one feels, not the way they look.
"That's what ageing and life is for me. I'm embracing it but I'm taking all these particular things (into account) like eating ghee, eating khichdi, doing a little bit of weight training for muscle strength, walking a little, my Surya Namaskars, doing my little work on my own rather than skin treatments and Botox," she said.
Kareena lives by the rule 'Main apni favourite hoon' that her character Geet says in her hit 2007 film, Jab We Met.
"That's the way every woman should live her life because self-belief is everything. No matter how you think or feel, you have to constantly reassure yourself every day, and then others start believing it."
The actor said she had put on around 25 kilos after the birth of her second son Jeh in 2021 and had a moment of doubt about her appearance.
"After Jeh's birth, there was a moment of like, 'Oh, my God. I have to go back and do this all over again'. But it was just like for a flash of a second. Then, it was just like, 'No, it's fine. I'm still looking fab'," she said.
The actor said her relationship with food is simple.
"In my early years, when I was chubby, my relationship with food was amazing. It's not like I ever tried to starve myself. I'm very comfortable in my own skin. In my teenage years also, I think I was (comfortable). I was always really happy to pick up a packet of chips. I was a confident girl.
"In the last 10-15 years, I go back to the same food. I'm always very happy with it. Because whether it's good or bad for me, I love the fact that it comforts me. It makes me feel happy. That's the most important thing for me," said Kareena.
She would be happy to eat khichdi five days a week.
"It's my comfort food. If I don't eat khichdi for three days, I start craving it."
The Kapoors are known for their love of food and that begins around the dining table.
"Like, we're sitting together, we're eating and chatting. The conversation gets better with food. It's all inter-related. So that's why it's a happy relationship with people and the way is through good food."
The Kapoor clan is obsessed with paaya soup, she said, calling it a 'golden dish for us'.
At home, there's nothing like a home-cooked meal after a hard day's work, added Kareena.
"Saif and I have started cooking. We enjoy it, so we also made it a way of life. Somehow it's affecting our personality. Saif is a better cook. I can't even boil an egg."
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff.com
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