May 12, 2025
Why Mandira Bedi refuses to celebrate her late husband Raj Kaushal's death anniversary
Kriti SonaliMandira Bedi opened up about how she coped with her husband, director and producer Raj Kaushal's sudden death, after he suffered a heart attack.
Mandira admitted that while the first year after his passing was incredibly hard. Raj Kaushal was only 50 when he passed away. Mandira and their kids — son Vir and daughter Tara — slowly learned to cope with the loss.
"With grief there aren’t any shortcuts. You have to go through it," shared Mandira Bedi.
Speaking on the YouTube channel The Full Circle, Mandira Bedi shared, "The first year after Raj’s death was the first of everything – birthday, anniversary, Diwali – they were all very hard".
She added, "The first of everything is a time when you want to sit in your room, don’t want to talk to anyone and just cry and cry till you can’t cry anymore."
Mandira shared that she chose not to observe her husband’s death anniversary as a sad occasion and added, "I did a one-month puja, one-year puja and all other rituals. After the one-year puja, I decided we will not mark this day… what is there to remember in this day… it’s a sad day in our lives."
She created a tradition of celebrating his birthday each year with friends and family, choosing to remember him fondly.
"On his birthday every year, I organise a puja followed by a lunch and I call all his friends. The lunch has Raj’s favourite foods. This is our way to celebrate him. His legacy is the lives he touched."
She added, "We have reached a stage where we laugh and remember him well."
Mandira shared that every day since Raj’s passing, she says a prayer to him, thanking him for his legacy, their children, and the home that they live in.
She also apologises to him for ‘all the hard times’ in their marriage and thanks him for setting up the systems in place that still continue today.
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