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00:00I have to say you are really having a lot of fun.
00:09It's a lot of fun watching you, by the way, may I just add that the reality TV show is
00:13so much fun.
00:14It's my guilty pleasure.
00:15I watch it and I see you women just like going at it.
00:19It's fun.
00:20It's a lot of fun.
00:21You do make our lives brighter.
00:23Thank you so much.
00:24I mean, honestly, that was the intention.
00:28I don't get why people a little bit scrutinize it.
00:33The intention is purely to entertain, purely to, you know, after a stressful day to just
00:41come put on Netflix.
00:44And that was the sole idea.
00:47It's not overly.
00:49I don't know.
00:50I mean, it's just simple, easy, guilty pleasure watching, you know.
00:55So, yeah, that was the sole intention behind the show.
00:59It's got polarizing reviews.
01:01People love to hate it.
01:02It's like four more shots, please.
01:04I don't know if you watch those series.
01:06It's just you do.
01:07OK, so even that, I think that's another series that gets a lot of hate from especially I
01:13feel people in general.
01:15It's not cerebral enough is what they claim.
01:17It's not perhaps intellectual.
01:19Do you think that is it OK to just have fun?
01:23I mean, why should there be guilt attached to it?
01:25One thing I've realized over the years of being in the industry is they only hate and
01:32they only make that effort to comment if it's important enough.
01:39If you are important enough, otherwise, you know, they don't waste time.
01:44I would rather not be inconsequential and so hate me.
01:50I'm fine with it, honestly.
01:52People are not ignoring me and they have trolled the greatest of greats in the industry.
02:00So I'm in good company and they're trolling you.
02:02You matter.
02:03So I say bring it on.
02:05It's fine.
02:06It's fine.
02:07I like your attitude.
02:08I think that's one of the best things that you have.
02:09I think that's the attitude that you also display that you can come at me.
02:13I'll take it in good stead.
02:16I mean, you might give it back, too.
02:18So I don't think you're a doormat.
02:20But at the same time, you are like, yeah, bring it on.
02:23I don't mind the haters at all, isn't it?
02:24I really don't.
02:25Honestly, I don't.
02:27You're not ignoring me.
02:29You're making that effort.
02:30It's fine.
02:31And, you know, you cannot please everybody.
02:37There's going to be a sector of people, no matter what, whether you're in the industry
02:40or not in the industry.
02:41Everyone's going to love you.
02:42Everyone's going to get you.
02:43And I'm OK with that.
02:44Oh, I love it.
02:45And I think in the second season, you came into your own a lot more.
02:51All the women, I feel they were far more confident, less edgy, I think, on how they'll
02:56be received.
02:57I think you guys found a sweet spot.
02:59I just felt it.
03:00Maybe I'm wrong.
03:01What do you think?
03:02Did you feel that as well?
03:03No, no, no.
03:04You're not wrong.
03:05See, you got to understand, we were at, when we were offered this, I must have been 47,
03:13going to 48.
03:14You know, I was at my face in my life.
03:18And I can say this for everybody.
03:20I think we were all at that phase in our lives where we were content.
03:26You know, we had a home, we had our jobs, a social life.
03:31Life was a routine.
03:32It was, you know, we were just in, you know, content.
03:38Suddenly Karan has opened a door for us, given us this opportunity, which we were not expecting
03:46at all.
03:47But that didn't at all mean it was like a blow to us, you know.
03:50I think Karan has spent so much time with us and he's constantly amused by us and constantly
03:58laughing at us and with us and whatever.
04:01So for him to think of this brainwave, it's, I don't know, it's borderline almost genius
04:08because I don't think, I don't know if he knew that we would take to the camera.
04:14But the thing is that when you're at that phase in life when you're so content and you're
04:18so comfortable and you're offered this, I honestly jumped into the deep end.
04:25I forgot that the cameras were around, but we are also humans.
04:31We don't want to be judged.
04:34Do you know what I mean?
04:35Ideally.
04:36In an ideal world of course.
04:37You're opening the homes, you're opening the children's lives, you're opening a whole Pandora's
04:42box for judgment, for people to pass comments and people to like you, dislike you, whatever.
04:50It's not easy.
04:52So I think the first season definitely we were a little more reserved.
04:58I think the response helped us a lot.
05:01There was so much love after the first season that we were so overwhelmed that we were like,
05:06shit, this really happened.
05:08And they really liked us.
05:11We were not expecting this.
05:13I can assure you, we were not expecting it.
05:15We thought that we just do first season, second season happens, we don't know.
05:20But we've experienced.
05:21It's in our bucket list, we've done it.
05:23But it did well.
05:24And I think by the time season two came, everyone just was so comfortable.
05:30And then they went in and they realized there's more love and there's more admiration and
05:36there's more, you know, like so many women are coming up to us and saying that, you know,
05:41you're an inspiration at this stage in your life doing this.
05:44I mean, that was the idea also.
05:47And so I think they were a lot more loose.
05:51Everybody was a lot more calmer in the second season.
05:53And Mahip, what I found interesting is that I think many women relate to you and your
05:59tribe is because you started in your 40s, mid 40s, because there are many women who
06:03don't know.
06:04It's a very interesting phase.
06:05You're not young, you're not old, you're somewhere in between.
06:08You don't know what you're doing.
06:09And often there's that existentialist angst going on in every woman's life.
06:12And suddenly you guys have found a new purpose, perhaps, we didn't know of you.
06:17And suddenly you did.
06:18I think in a weird way, you guys are beacon of hope for most women, you know, in that
06:22age bracket as well.
06:23What do I do with my life?
06:24Will there be a second chance?
06:25Will I have second innings, etc?
06:28But that's such a nice compliment, because honestly, it is a fact and I keep telling
06:34women that just because you're in your mid 40s, or whatever, I mean, you just don't know.
06:43And push your boundaries, do that course that you want to do, do that travel, take that
06:53trip with your girlfriends, life is too short.
06:57And post this whole pandemic, we know that we were all suddenly confronted with our mortality,
07:06our, you know, questioning our lives.
07:09And we were forced into thinking, you know, I mean, it was it was a scary time.
07:16And I just feel that that should be a wake up call for all of us.
07:21Just go for it, women, just go for it.
07:23May I just add all you women are so well preserved, especially in the second season, I was like,
07:28are you guys on some crazy diet?
07:31What have you guys done?
07:32You look way better.
07:33And you will need to be honest, Maheep.
07:34You can't tell us it's yoga.
07:36No, no, no, no, look, I can't be anything but honest.
07:42So I will tell you that also, this was another thing for us, we have never faced the camera
07:49like this.
07:50Suddenly, when I'm looking at the camera, I'm thinking, my God, my backside looks like
07:54this.
07:55And my hair from back, my side profile is like this.
07:59These are angles we are not really seeing, you know, properly.
08:05And obviously, we learned from season one, okay, I make up, I think, certain scenes,
08:13I was looking like a geisha.
08:15And I was like, had too much on and I was thinking, Oh, my God, I was looking bad.
08:20So that also is a learning experience.
08:24As far as losing weight is concerned, I was in lockdown.
08:28And honestly, my husband got me the cycle in the house.
08:34And I was, I was full of anxiety, full of, you know, I was angst and just unsure of what
08:43was going on and whatever.
08:45So I used to take out all my frustration on that cycle.
08:49I used to sit in the room and cycle for hours.
08:53I kid you not, if it was in the morning, or in the evening, I just needed to get out that
08:57energy so I could sleep at night also, because I'm always so busy, you know, otherwise.
09:03So that helped me a lot.
09:06And unfortunately, also, there was a big phase in my life where I got diagnosed with diabetes.
09:15So that dropped weight from December to March.
09:19I'm totally being honest with you guys.
09:22It's hard work.
09:24But the point is that women, I also want to tell you that even if you're in your 40s,
09:32you can lose weight, there's a no, there's no such thing, oh, we're menopausing, or we're
09:38paramenopausal, or the metabolic rate is going down.
09:40That's why, honestly, I do want to start this channel, primarily, because this is something
09:48that women keep asking me, you know, what makeup are you using?
09:52You're in your mid 40s, next year, I'm going to be 50.
09:56How are you maintaining yourself?
09:57Dude, I've done a full thesis on this.
10:01So I do want to share it.
10:05And I just want to explain to women that how we ate in our teens, and how we eat in our
10:1040s is entirely different.
10:11Every phase, we have to see our body and our nutrition and what we need, and eat accordingly.
10:18And I'm going to do my YouTube channel very soon to tell you everything.
10:22But you know what, Mahit, when I see your girl clique, I think you are the leader.
10:26In every group, there's a dynamic between four friends or three friends.
10:30Somebody is always a leader, the other person is a mediator, the third one is always a doormat.
10:34She agrees to everything and just moves on.
10:36But you are the alpha female in it.
10:38Am I right?
10:39And you are like telling them to loosen up, we can't say the we word, but yeah, about
10:44your private parts.
10:45Come on, let's do an ad about it and the way you were trying to tell your friends loosen
10:51up a bit.
10:52I thought that was very real, because you seem to be the one who, you know, pushes them
10:56to take risks and be a lot more liberated, if I can use that word.
11:01Again, women at a certain age, you know, when we're faced and forced into reality,
11:09everyone has a reaction to it, you know, so all this is true.
11:14We did get this menopause thing.
11:17It was these reactions, okay, it was entirely these reactions.
11:21And it was like, for me, it is like, listen, it's it's around the corner is knocking on
11:27the door.
11:28I'm ready to do it.
11:29I'm ready to explain.
11:32And I feel that the more open you are, and more comfortable you are with these situations
11:40or these, you know, like menopause, it's not a dirty word, they get like, okay, like, they're
11:45talking about it so openly.
11:47So it needs to be discussed.
11:48You know, women are so shy about saying that, look, we are going through menopause, or we
11:54are going through perimenopause.
11:56It's not a swear word.
12:00In fact, it's a privilege that we have grown to this phase in our life where we are perimenopausing
12:06and menopausing.
12:07It is another phase in our life and so be it, dude, embrace it, and own it.
12:15And it's fine.
12:18As far as being the leader of the pack, I don't let them have much of a choice.
12:26I insist, I am the leader.
12:28Yeah.
12:29So then I think my friends are like, oh, God, just it's easier to just go with her and her
12:35ideas than to argue with her.
12:38I think, yeah, they're like that.
12:41They're like, oh, just, you know, whatever.
12:44Maheep, what I loved is as well that you spoke about your relationship with Sanjay, and you
12:50just celebrated his 60th birthday.
12:53You both are the portrait of perhaps getting over things and getting over bumps.
12:58You were so open about it, and I thought it was a very, you were adulting a lot.
13:02Not many women do that because they hate to admit that there's a flaw in their marriage
13:06or that, you know, somebody slipped.
13:08It can be the woman, it can be the man.
13:10But you know, just to admit it on national television, not easy, which you did, and I
13:15was like, very impressed.
13:16I was like, I'm not sure whether everybody can do it or has that agency to do it.
13:22Whatever I did in the show, I was honest.
13:26Women connected to me, probably.
13:27I mean, when you put it down on the table and say that, look, life is not a bed of roses.
13:35That's the first thing that we need to address, that there's quite, but the beauty of life
13:39is that there's ups and there's downs.
13:42And that downs make you appreciate the ups.
13:44Yesterday, I was checking out the pictures that you uploaded, and I was like, man, at
13:4960, he looks good.
13:50Man, at 59, you said you are 49.
13:53You're 49.
13:5449, 50.
13:55Yeah.
13:56Wow, there's a 11 year difference between y'all.
14:00Okay, wow.
14:01Okay, that I didn't know.
14:02My math is so poor.
14:03But God, you both look good.
14:05I have to say, you guys are having fun, right?
14:08I mean, you guys are embracing the space.
14:10The kids are grown up, there's empty nest syndrome soon, I'm sure, like, everything.
14:16So how are you handling it?
14:17There are several women and families now going through this exact phase, where you're kind
14:22of having fun, your kids have grown up, you're in a good space.
14:26Because my kids have grown up, I could also take on the show.
14:29I've got my jewelry.
14:31Also, I've got my show.
14:33Also, I've got my endorsements.
14:35Also, I my plate is very, very full.
14:38I give my time also I need my time for my family.
14:41So my plate is very, very full.
14:44I think that's making it easier for me to let my kids go some a little bit, you know,
14:51in the sense like, okay, I'm busy also, I've got my life also.
14:56You know, can you say anything about the third season at all?
14:59This is more for me rather than I think for the readers, I don't, I don't think, you know,
15:03there would be are you allowed to or are you under some anonymity?
15:06What is that called?
15:07They've not told us that there's third season happening.
15:11There is third season, I'm telling you as a viewer.
15:15They have not confirmed it to us.
15:17They have, they have to make that phone call to tell us, guys, how it season is happening.
15:23As of now, maybe after Diwali, we get an idea.
15:27But I'm hoping, I'm hoping that there's questions.
15:31It's not all answered.
15:34You have always been batting for it.
15:36Like guys, girls, let's go do it.
15:38Let's make money.
15:39I like how open you are about your relationship with money.
15:41I love it.
15:43You're materialistic.
15:44And you're like, I'm okay with that.
15:46That's how the world works.
15:47I work hard.
15:49Since the show has dropped, I don't think there's been a day where I've sat at home.
15:53Literally, we've been, I've been on a plane going to Hyderabad, Madras, Maldives, Dubai
15:59twice, you know, and I love it.
16:02I work hard for the money, put it that way.
16:06And I don't make bones about it.
16:08Never apologize, never apologize for greed, I say.
16:11Yes, but I always feel I need to apologize because I don't know if people get it.
16:15But yes, money is very important.
16:17I work very hard for my children and myself and my family.
16:23Anything else you want to add?
16:24I'll be happy to, at all.
16:25I mean, I just want to say, please be kind, write about me nicely.
16:31That would be honestly great.
16:33It's always nice to be understood.
16:35I think my main thing is that I do walk away from people who don't understand me.
16:41But it's always a big high when people understand me and get me.
16:47I'm like, oh, you get me?
16:49Okay, you know.
16:51So that's always a high for me.
16:54It's always a high.
16:55I'm with you there.
16:56And you're a great person to know.
16:57So keep up the good work and I really hope that you don't stop working.
17:02Because it's fun to see you guys all like your element.
17:05I won't stop working, whatever happens.
17:08That for sure.
17:09I mean, I've not stopped working all my life since I don't know when.
17:15But that's for sure.
17:16And hopefully, season three will happen and you'll see more of us.
17:23Right.
17:24Right.
17:25And also you have given, you know, gentrified Bollywood wives a lot, I think.
17:28Generally there's always this reductive label.
17:30They don't do much apart from attending parties, then you realize, oh, did they have a business?
17:35I didn't know.
17:36You know what I mean?
17:37So always sometimes it just catches you by surprise as well.
17:40That's the thing.
17:41Everyone's got this preconceived perception of Bollywood wives.
17:47But every wife, so called Bollywood wife that I know of, they're all working, they're all
17:54making their money, they're all independent, all great mothers, fantastic mothers, fantastic
18:01wives.
18:03Not easy being in the limelight, being a miss, you know, like you said, you told me the perception
18:11of Bollywood wives.
18:12You guys follow the star, you know, it's always like that one's wife, your name is never the
18:19first ones if we even write the headline.
18:22It's often the man's name.
18:24Well, so I accept it.
18:26It's Sanjay Kapoor's wife and you know, and I'm proud of it.
18:30I'm very proud of it.
18:32But there is a lot more to all of us.
18:36And I'm kind of glad that the show kind of showed that.
18:40I'm so happy too.
18:41It was great knowing you through the show and also your work.
18:44Thank you so much for talking to me in Dubai.
18:48You take care.
18:49Bye bye.
18:52Bye bye.