The stork comes visiting B-town

New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) Some are busy changing nappies, others are preparing to welcome their first child: motherhood is the buzzword in tinseltown! While Aishwarya Rai and Lara Dutta are in the family way, Konkona Sen Sharma, Mandira Bedi and Preeti Jhangiani are relishing playing hands-on moms to their newborns.

The much-awaited news of Aishwarya's pregnancy was broken to the fans and film fraternity by her father-in-law, megastar Amitabh Bachchan, in June. The Bachchan household was overjoyed with the news - with papa-to-be Abhishek thanking everyone for their 'love, support and blessings'.

In a recent interview, Abhishek said: 'I want a daughter who will look like Aishwarya'.

Meanwhile, work has taken a backseat for Aishwarya, who was been replaced by Kareena Kapoor in Madhur Bhandarkar's ambitious project 'Heroine'.

Lara, who married tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi in February, is the latest to confirm her pregnancy.

'We are excited about the baby,' tweeted Lara, who had tied the knot in a church wedding in Goa amid close family and friends.

In the meantime, it's celebrity mothers like actress-turned-TV host Mandira, Preeti and Konkona, who are making the most of the joys of motherhood.

Married to filmmaker Raj Kaushal, Mandira had a son on July 17, after 12 years of marriage. They are proud parents of a baby boy, whom they have named Vir.

The excited father had taken to Twitter to share his joy. He posted: 'Ladies and gentlemen..the czar of our lives Mr Vir Kaushal has arrived,' while Mandira wrote: 'And here starts an exciting new chapter of my life! '

Preeti and her husband, Parveen Dabbas, who are gearing up for the release of their debut production and direction venture 'Sahi Dhandhe Galat Bande', respectively, also joined the list of new celebrity parents with the birth of their son in April.

Another celebrity couple sharing parental responsibilities these days are Konkona and Ranvir Shorey. Within six months of their marriage, Konkona gave birth to baby boy Haroon in March. They were in a relationship for over three years, and solemnised their wedding in a low-key, private ceremony.

The stork also visited other Bollywood celebrities in the first half of this year!

Actor Manoj Bajpayee's wife, Neha (real name Shabana Raza) had a daughter in February. They named her Ava Nayla. It was the 'most memorable day' for Manoj, who will soon be seen in Prakash Jha's 'Aarakshan'.

'It is the most memorable day for me and my wife. First time, I am getting the happiness of fatherhood and also the feeling of responsibility. First time, I am getting emotional about how life will turn,' the actor had posted on his blog.

Actor-filmmaker Sohail Khan became father for the second time with wife Seema giving birth to a second son June 16. Their older son Nirvaan is 10 years old.

Sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar also became mother of son Zubin Shankar Wright in February. She is married to British director Joe Wright.

Already Bollywood has had a string of yummy mummies like Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon, Sonali Bendre, Kajol, Twinkle Khanna and 'Munni' girl Malaika Arora Khan. Hope the new bandwagon of mothers in tinseltown keep the trend going!

(Priyanka Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])