Mumbai

Former Miss India 2009 and actress Pooja Chopra’s mother, Neera Chopra, has opened up about the heartbreaking challenges she faced after giving birth to her younger daughter, revealing that she was pressured to either abandon the child or leave her in an orphanage.

During an emotional conversation on the reality show ‘Tum Ho Na – Ghar Ki Superstar’, Neera shared her inspiring journey of raising two daughters against all odds and the hardships she endured before seeing them succeed.

Recalling her early years of marriage, Neera said, “After marriage, my in-laws’ family was good and we belonged to a middle-class household. When my first daughter was born, everyone’s attitude was fine. Later, when she was one-and-a-half years old, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer. While taking care of her, I would ask, ‘Mom, everything will be okay, right?’ She told me, ‘If you have a son, the atmosphere in the family will become much better.'”

Years later, when her second daughter, Pooja Chopra, was born, Neera said her life took a painful turn.

“When my elder daughter turned seven, my second daughter was born. By then, the environment around me had become extremely negative. For three days, nobody came to see me at the hospital. I didn’t even have clothes for the baby. The hospital attendant would keep shouting that the child had soiled herself. Another woman in the ward, who had delivered her second son, eventually gave some of her baby’s clothes for my daughter,” she recalled.

Neera further revealed that even her husband showed no excitement after Pooja’s birth.

“My husband came to take us home after ten days. There was no happiness. He neither held the baby nor looked at her properly. Once I returned home, I was made to resume household work from the eleventh day itself,” she said.

The most emotional moment came when Neera revealed the pressure she faced regarding her newborn daughter.

“After 20 days, I was told every day, ‘Kill her or leave her in an orphanage.’ But I am a mother. How could I ever do something like that?” she said.

Determined to protect her child, Neera made a life-changing decision.

“I left home with my 21-day-old daughter. I walked away from everything,” she said.

With only ₹81 in her purse, Neera arrived in Mumbai with her two daughters.

“I came from Kolkata to Mumbai where my parents lived. I had my seven-year-old daughter holding my hand and my 21-day-old baby in my arms. I had just ₹81 with me. And forgive me, I even travelled without a ticket,” she revealed.

Remembering those difficult days, Neera said she desperately searched for work and walked into a five-star hotel without knowing whom to approach.

“I was extremely desperate for a job. I met Mrs. Mona Chawla there. I didn’t even know who she was. I simply went to her and said, ‘Ma’am, please give me a job. I need work,'” she recalled.

She was then given an unusual test.

“She asked me, ‘What is wrong with my cabin?’ I replied, ‘The air-conditioner is making too much noise and the carpet isn’t clean.’ Impressed by my observation and honesty, she offered me a job and asked me to join the very next day,” Neera said.

Her starting salary was just ₹900 per month.

“I told my mother that I would hand over my entire salary and keep only a little money aside for my daughters’ milk,” she said.

After years of perseverance, life finally improved.

“I spent six years like that. Then I got a job in Goa where my salary increased from ₹900 to ₹6,000, and gradually life came back on track,” she recalled.

Speaking proudly about her daughters, Neera became emotional and said, “If I get another life, I would ask God to give me these same two daughters again in every birth.”

Remembering the day she left her marital home, she said, “I looked back and told them, ‘You are throwing me out because of this daughter, but one day this girl will make me proud.’ And today, my daughter has truly made me proud.”

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