Mother's Day special: Actors who defied customs to embrace motherhood

Motherhood is often defined as the most remarkable phase of a woman's life, enabling her to summon the strength she didn't know she had in herself. Traditionally, motherhood has been defined a certain way, but things are on the transformative path; the definition is becoming more fluid every day. On Mother's Day, check out these Bollywood actors who defied age-old customs to embrace motherhood.

Former Miss Universe Sushmita Sen has put forth several examples of feminism and individuality over the years. One of the earliest testimonies of her courage was when she decided to adopt her first daughter, Renee. Sen was 25 at that time. Moreover, some years later, she adopted Alisah and has famously been bringing up the girls single-handedly, not caring about what the world says!

Veteran actor Neena Gupta, known for her audacious comments and for never mincing her words, has openly spoken about how her daughter, fashion designer Masaba Gupta, was born out of wedlock. Back then, Gupta was dating former West Indies cricketer Vivian Richards, and when he reportedly refused to marry her, Gupta, instead of cowering down, went ahead and raised the baby alone!

Sunny Leone has sailed through many odds: she has transitioned from the adult film industry to modeling and Bollywood and is now even gearing up for Cannes! Apart from her resolve to not let her past define her, what's special about Leone is her decision to adopt a small girl child, named Nisha Kaur Weber in 2017, a decision that ushered in immense praise.

Last month, Ileana D'Cruz announced her pregnancy. It was, however, admittedly fearless of D'Cruz to not pander to age-old societal customs and not divulge the details about the father. Recently, she posted pictures of her baby bump, and this time, too, she didn't reveal anything about the baby's father. At a time when social media is ready to crucify everyone, this is unheard of.