Reason why Neha Dhupia hid pregnancy: I was worried people would stop offering work

Neha Dhupia's hush-hush marriage with Angad Bedi in May this year had raised quite a few eyebrows. Soon rumours started doing the rounds that Neha married Angad because she was pregnant before marriage.

While Neha's father Pradip Dhupia refuted the claims, husband Angad Bedi had also categorically denied pregnancy rumours until the couple confirmed on August 24 on social media three months after getting married.

But why did Neha Dhupia hide her pregnancy till she entered her second trimester?

"I was worried people would stop offering work. It was a good thing my bump wasn't showing till the sixth month because appearances matter here, and one might be assumed to be unfit for a job. Fortunately, my energy levels are high," Neha Dhupia told Mid-Day.

Neha and Angad's first baby is due in November this year and the mother-to-be is very excited to welcome her baby and feels that the Soorma actor will make a great father.

"He is the best dad-in-the-making but I am worried what will happen when he and the baby will gang up on me," Neha added.

When she was asked whether she will go for maternity break, Neha retorted, "It's not that I am against women who decide to take those months off. It's my choice."

She further added, "I promise you it is the sweetest feeling ever. And it is so wonderful to see women come to work with their pregnancy. It is so empowering. I just want to tell everyone out there that this is no reason to sit at home and you should just come out and work every day. Make your child already ready for it and feel special, that's the most important thing."

Neha and Angad got married on May 10 in a hush-hush wedding ceremony according to Sikh rituals at a gurudwara in New Delhi.

Earlier, Angad had talked about having kids and striking a work-life balance.

"Work is important, but there is a life beyond that. Kids are an extension of you and it is important to raise them well. If that requires sacrifice, even professionally, then we will do it. The happiness of having a child cannot be matched by any number of zeroes on a cheque. So, you got to look at life from that perspective," Angad had said.