Cinema VinesMotherhood is no longer a mandatory pause in an actor’s career. While some women return to the set within months of welcoming a child, others prefer to wait until they feel ready, choosing their own timelines. Recent examples from Bollywood illustrate this trend, with Kiara Advani, Parineeti Chopra, Richa Chadha and Bipasha Basu all making comebacks after becoming mothers.
Kiara Advani and her husband Sidharth Malhotra welcomed their first child, a daughter named Saraayah, in July 2025. During her pregnancy, Kiara filmed portions of the film Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups and promoted it after the baby’s birth. In an interview with Raj Shamani’s podcast, she described herself as a “completely different person” now that she is a mother, adding that the experience has made her feel like a “tigress.”
Parineeti Chopra gave birth to her son Neer with Raghav Chadha in October 2025. She had last appeared in the 2024 film Amar Singh Chamkila and is now preparing for her web‑series debut, Shaque: Trust No One, a project that was shot partly while she was pregnant. At the trailer launch in Mumbai, Parineeti said, “I don’t think I’ve had a single conversation with a maker, director or writer who has mentioned motherhood to me.” She emphasized that motherhood would not dictate her career choices, adding, “I would hate to stop working just because I became a mom.” She also praised actresses Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra Jonas for normalising the idea of women continuing to work after having children.
Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal welcomed their daughter Zuneyra in July 2024. After a brief hiatus, she returned to the screen in the 2024 web‑series Heeramandi and is slated to appear in an upcoming crime‑thriller series as a detective. In an interview, Richa said she took time off intentionally because the early months with her daughter were important. In December 2025 she wrote about her return after “nearly two years,” noting that her body and mind were not ready sooner.
Bipasha Basu and her husband Karan Singh Grover welcomed daughter Devi in November 2022. Her last on‑screen appearance before motherhood was the 2020 web series Dangerous. She is now returning with Hansal Mehta’s crime‑thriller series Barabanki, marking a comeback after a six‑year break. In an interview, Bipasha said she had reached a point where she “wants to start work again,” believing that now is the right time to resume her career.
