‘After the commitment is there, all you’re really doing is signing a piece of paper’

Pooja Bedi’s perspective on love and marriage has changed significantly with time. The actress has revealed that despite being engaged to Maneck Contractor for eight years, the couple has no plans to formalise their relationship through marriage.In a conversation with Vickey Lalwani, Pooja opened up about why she has chosen to remain engaged rather than get married. She recalled that while she once subscribed to the traditional idea of marriage, her personal experiences have given her a different outlook. “Today I’m in a relationship with Maneck, and I’ve been engaged for eight years. And people ask, ‘When are you getting married?, very excitedly.’ And I say, I’m not getting married,” she said.Pooja explained that, for her, an engagement already represents the commitment that marriage is supposed to signify. “Engagement is when a person puts a ring on your finger and says, ‘I want to be married to you.'” Which basically says, I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, as a companion, as your lover, as your husband, and as a father of your children. The commitment is enough. After the commitment is there, all you’re really doing is signing a piece of paper and getting the government involved in your affair.”The ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ actress also believes that staying unmarried makes financial matters considerably less complicated, especially since both she and Maneck have children from previous marriages. “It is so much easier. I’ve been married, I’ve been divorced, and I have two children. He’s been married, he’s been divorced, and he has kids too. In terms of simple things, like in terms of your assets, it’s so simple.“My assets go to my kids; his assets go to his kids. I’m earning, he’s earning, and we’re both independent. I don’t need him for security’s sake. He doesn’t need me for financial security,” she explained.Pooja further revealed that marriage was initially part of their plans, but they eventually realised that the institution did not align with the life they wanted to build together. “The intention was to get married, and the reality of what marriage actually looks like to us. It didn’t fit our vision for what we want in life, in terms of everything.

“I don’t want to be contracted to somebody. I’ve been there, done that. I believe everyone should be married. I think marriage is a wonderful space, and it’s just that I’ve been there, done that. I don’t see the need to do that.”For Pooja, their relationship is defined by choice and commitment rather than a legal contract. She said, “Our families love each other; my kids love him. I love his family. So for me, we are as good as together forever,” she shared.Pooja and Maneck had been in a committed relationship for several years before getting engaged in 2019. The actress was previously married to Farhan Furniturewala, with whom she shares two children, Alaya F and Omar Furniturewalla. The couple divorced in 2003.