Gurmeet and Debina to adopt two orphaned girls

They met the girls three years ago in 2014, when the couple were in Jarampur to attend a family wedding. Gurmeet's parents -mother Anmol, who is a Hindi school teacher and father Sitaram who is a retired army officer -are settled there and that's where Pooja, an orphan, was living with her uncle and first cousin Lata. But last year Lata's father passed away and the two girls moved in with a distant relative. Gurmeet's mother, who is close to the girls since they live in the vicinity, realised that the children would have to work in people's homes as domestic help to sustain themselves. "After hearing about their plight from my mother I discussed them with my wife. Debina agreed with me that it was time to give the kids a home, a deserving education and my last name," says Gurmeet, admitting that he had taken an instant liking to them and had been discussing their well-being with his mother over the last two years.

The initial plan was to support them financially but then remembering his own childhood in Jarampur, which was without electricity for months during the monsoons and where life was difficult without proper amenities, Gurmeet decided to go the full mile. "All the paperwork is done. We will be going to Jarampur for the final signatures after Holi. It is a two-day process.Everybody, including my parents, keep asking me when I'm planning a baby. Well, it's official now, I'm bringing home two daughters and we couldn't be more excited," exults Gurmeet.

Will the girls be moving in with Debina and him right away?
Gurmeet informs that friends, family and counsellors have advised them not to uproot the girls from the small village and bring them to this bustling, fast-paced city directly because it could be a culture-shock for them and make it difficult for them to adapt to their improved but drastically changed circumstances. "I remember when I moved to Mumbai 13 years ago, life was a struggle for me till Ramayan came along in 2008 and I found my real life Sita in Debina," Gurmeet smiles. So his daughters will first move to Patna which is a smaller city as compared to Mumbai and be enrolled in schools there. "After one academic year, they will shift in with us in our Andheri home by 2018. My brother and his family live in Patna and they will be around to see that they are well cared for. Debina and I will travel to Patna three-four times in the year and stay there through their summer vacation too," Gurmeet informs.

And how have the girls reacted to the news of a new daddy and mummy and a home in Mumbai soon? Gurmeet says that while Pooja at six is too young to understand what is happening, Debina and he have discussed the adoption process with Lata and have her consent on everything. "She's begun to binge watch all my TV shows in an effort to know all about me," he laughs, adding that since his roots and modest upbringing have made him the grounded person he is today, the girls will continue to visit Jarampur during holidays and keep in touch with their relatives, even after they move to Mumbai. The 33-year-old actor tied the knot with Debina in February 2011 and admits that they plan to have kids of their own too. "The general belief is that you only adopt if you can't have children of your own.That's not true at all. Both Debina and I love kids and plan to have a couple of our own in the future. And when they come along they will be siblings for Pooja and Lata and all the Choudharys will happily live together under one roof," he signs off.