There was no baby bump seen on Kiran Rao, but a baby boy arrived Dec. 1. Aamir Khan (46) and his second wife, filmmaker Kiran Rao, are the proud parents of a son after Kiran had a traumatic miscarriage last year, due to the wonders of medical technology.
The couple sent a letter and a box of chocolates to their nears and dears stating, “It gives us the greatest joy to share with you the good news of the birth of our baby boy. This baby is especially dear to us as he was born to us after a long wait and considerable difficulty. Due to medical complications, we were advised to have a baby through IVF-surrogacy, and we feel very grateful to the Almighty that all has gone well. We are humbled by the greatness of God, the miracles of science and the kindness and love of our family and friends in being there for us while respecting our privacy. We seek your good wishes and blessings for our child.”
The couple underwent treatment under Dr. Firuza Parikh, who heads the IVF department of Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital. Kiran (38) had certain uterine problems that necessitated this step. Aamir has two children, Junaid (18) and Ira (11), from his first marriage.
The child has brought back into focus the issue of surrogacy — an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers the biological child of another couple after (as in this case) the embryo is transferred to her uterus. Commercial surrogacy (where the women who carries the child receives due compensation over and above the medical expenses) is allowed in India under the Indian Council for Medical Research-formulated Assisted Reproductive Technology guidelines of 2005, coincidentally the year Khan married Rao.
India is emerging as a leader in international surrogacy and a destination in surrogacy-related fertility tourism because of the relatively low cost. Compared to $150,000 in the U.S., Indian clinics are known to charge Rs. 1 to 1.5 million for the complete package, including the surrogate woman’s fees. Experts hope that this celebrity child will encourage more and more couples to come forward and fulfill their dreams of parenthood and thus finalize and push the Surrogacy Bill. DNA newspaper reports that India would be the first country to have a legal sanction on paid surrogacy.
Interestingly, this issue was dealt with a decade ago in Abbas-Mustan’s “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” and in a more hard-hitting and detailed manner in the National Award-winning 2010 Marathi film “Malaa Aai Vhaychayaya,” which was produced by a relative of a lawyer who had fought a case in Parliament and won for the Indian surrogate mother of a foreigner couple’s child. The lawyer herself had penned the dramatized script of this wonderful film that this reporter got to watch as a panel member of the National Film Awards jury.