Pooja Bhatt’s grandmom held funeral for her amputated leg: ‘What are we doing here?’

Pooja Bhatt has shared an unusual family anecdote that perfectly sums up her grandmother Betty Bertha Bright’s eccentric personality. The actor-filmmaker recalled how her grandmother insisted on holding a funeral for her amputated leg, leaving the family stunned. During the conversation, she also revealed that Aashiqui, the 1990 blockbuster, was inspired by her parents’ romance.

Speaking on Cyrus Broacha’s podcast, Pooja described her maternal grandmother as a resilient woman of Armenian and English-Irish heritage who was known for her sharp wit and dark sense of humour.

“So, my grandmother, my mother’s mother, Betty Bertha Bright, was half Armenian and half English or Irish. She was as tough as nails. She grew up in Calcutta during the time of the Raj,” Pooja Bhatt recalled.

She went on to narrate how diabetes led to her grandmother losing a leg, but even that became an occasion for her trademark black humour.

“She developed diabetes later in life, so her leg had to be amputated. When the leg was amputated, she insisted on a funeral for it. So all of us had to go to St. Andrew’s Church while she was present and her leg was being buried. We were looking at each other and saying, ‘What is this? This is a run-up to the final day.'”

According to Pooja, her grandmother treated the unusual ceremony almost like a rehearsal, carefully observing how everyone reacted.

“She was actually looking at everybody, almost taking notes—’What’s the depth of your affection?’ That’s a slight glimpse into my family. I wouldn’t say comedy, but it’s almost like black humour. It’s totally black humour. And you can’t not attend. You just can’t.”

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Recalling the family’s confusion, she added, “She was watching everyone’s expressions to see how they were behaving and who showed up and who didn’t. A lot of us were looking at each other thinking, ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ But we were like, ‘Shh… just go through it.'”

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Pooja Bhatt turned down Aashiqui

Interestingly, Pooja Bhatt also revealed that she was originally offered Aashiqui that eventually starred Rahul Roy and Anu Aggarwal. However, she turned it down because she was in love at the time and felt her then-boyfriend was not comfortable with her pursuing an acting career.

“I was offered Aashiqui. The only time in my life my uncle Mukesh Bhatt came to my house with crisp bundles of cash. He said, ‘This is your signing amount.’ I said, ‘I have decided I don’t want to act anymore.'”

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Pooja recalled that the decision surprised her family, with Mukesh Bhatt informing Mahesh Bhatt that she had refused the film. She also revealed that her father did not speak to her for two weeks after learning about her decision.

‘Aashiqui was inspired by my parents’ love story’

Pooja Bhatt then revealed that Aashiqui was actually inspired by the real-life romance between her parents, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and Lorraine Bright (later Kiran Bhatt).

“Aashiqui was based on my mother and father’s love story. My mother was in a Scottish orphanage, and my dad lived in a building across from it. He saw her during a sports day event, jumped the wall to meet her, and got caught.”

She said the incident prompted an unforgettable response from her grandmother.

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“My grandmother, Betty Bertha Bright, was called, and she said, ‘Listen, I just put my youngest child in boarding school. If you are old enough to jump the wall, you are old enough to look after her.'”

Pooja said her mother was subsequently expelled from the orphanage, after which Mahesh Bhatt took responsibility for her.

“She was thrown out of school because of this, and my dad took it as his responsibility. He took her to the YWCA and forged a letter saying she was a working girl so that she could stay there. She got a job at Grover’s Vineyard. She knew only two bus routes—one to work and one back home.”

Pooja added, “He looked after her when she was very young. He is 77 now, she is 74. Aashiqui is based on this. I could actually be playing my mother’s role.”

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Pooja Bhatt is the elder daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Lorraine Bright, who later changed her name to Kiran Bhatt. Pooja made her acting debut with Daddy in 1989 and went on to star in several successful films, including Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin, Sadak, Sir, Chaahat and Border. Besides acting, she has also carved a niche for herself as a filmmaker.