When Esha Deol said her ex-husband Bharat Takhtani told her not to put on weight. 'Could not roam around...'

Esha Deol and her husband, Bharat Takhtani, parted ways after 11 years of marriage in 2024. Takhtani has found love again with entrepreneur Meghna Lakhani. The two made their relationship public on Instagram through a couple of pictures where they were seen being cosy with each other. As the photos spread like wildfire on the Internet, an old interview of Esha and Bharat from Filmfare has gone viral.

The pair tied the knot in 2012 in a lavish, star-studded wedding. The duo appeared for a joint interview for Filmfare a year after that. In the interview, Bharat described her as “gharelu” and praised her for looking after his mother and being sensitive to her needs. He also gushed about her for taking care of his culinary preferences. “She’s caring and responsible. She’s aware of what keeps me happy. I’m a foodie; I live to eat. And she sees to it that my favourite dishes are prepared at home. In fact, for someone who didn’t know how to make chai just the other day, she cooked Khow Suey,” he told the magazine.

Esha observed that he was traditional like her father and very responsible. “Bharat’s outgoing yet traditional. In a way, he’s like Papa; he knows how to keep his family together. If he can love and care for them, he won’t let me down either,” she said.


She also admitted that Bharat had expressed concern about her gaining weight, so the two had decided to join Ashtanga yoga classes.

Shortly after their divorce in 2024, a snippet from Esha’s book, ‘Amma Mia,’ went viral, where she hinted at the conservative household of her in-laws, where she was discouraged from wearing casual clothes like she did before.

“She wrote in her book, “When we got married in 2012, there were many things that changed.” She added, “Of course, once I began living with his family, I couldn’t roam around the house in my shorts and ganjis like I used to…”

Although the couple released a joint statement describing their separation as a mutual decision, reports from that time indicated that veteran actor Dharmendra was profoundly impacted by the development and wished they would reconcile. According to a source quoted by Bollywood Life, he was deeply pained as no parent wants to witness the breakdown of their child’s family. While he was not opposed to his daughter’s choice to part ways, he had hoped she might reconsider before finalizing the decision. His reaction reflected both a father’s concern and the emotional toll such situations take on families.

Esha married Bharat in an intimate ceremony held at the ISKCON temple in Mumbai on June 29, 2012. The wedding was a quiet affair, attended only by close family members and friends. Five years later, in 2017, the couple embraced parenthood with the arrival of their first daughter, Radhya. Their family grew once again in 2019, when they welcomed their second daughter, Miraya.

In terms of her professional journey, Esha’s most recent appearance was in the drama feature Tumko Meri Kasam. Helmed by filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, the project draws its narrative from the real-life story of Dr. Ajay Murdia, the visionary behind Indira IVF. The movie features a strong ensemble with Anupam Kher, Ishwak Singh, Adah Sharma, and Esha Deol taking on the central characters. The film officially hit theatres on March 21, 2025.