EXCLUSIVE: Harbhajan speaks on fatherhood: Earlier Cricket used to make me happy but now it's just Hinaya

In an EXCLUSIVE tête-à-tête with us from Alwar, Harbhajan Singh talks about fatherhood, Roadies, Rannvijay and more.

Excerpts..

What prompted you to say yes for Roadies?

Roadies is something which is entirely different from the other shows. There's a lot of physical activities and adventure involved. Also, it's a show which connects with the youth and I myself have enjoyed the show when I was in my twenties. So I thought it's nice to be associated with the young kids who want to explore themselves and see if we can help and guide them to achieve their goals. People go through such tough tasks that they eventually learn how to tackle different situations in life.

You hail from Punjab possessing all the Gabru blood in you. So if given an opportunity, would you ever join Roadies as a contestant?

Well, I don't think I will ever be a contestant. Woh meri contestant banne ki umar bhi nikal gayi hai ek toh. I don't mind doing the stuff Roadies do but definitely not as a contestant. I've been on a different road for almost 20 years so I don't want to change that. I can join these Roadies on a level where I can help them achieve their targets on the show. And then obviously my goals today are different than someone who's just in their teenage or twenties.

You're now a proud father of a very cute baby girl- Hinaya Heer. How's the feeling?

This is probably the best feeling I ever had. Earlier Cricket used to give me lots of happiness and it was my everything. It was my passion but now my daughter has become my passion. She's my jaanu and everything to me.

We saw you Facetiming with your daughter as and when you got a little time off from the hectic shoot..

A lot was happening today on the shoot so I thought while these contestants are busy deciding on their task the best thing for me to do can be to check what my daughter is doing and this is the best feeling I can tell you!

Rannvijay too became a father recently. Do you guys exchange any tips on fatherhood?

Yeah, we keep sharing whatever little knowledge we have with each other. We do discuss. Rannvijay is also a family man. Like me, he also keeps traveling from one place to another and gets to see his little girl for a short time. It's hard not being there with them. Rannvijay and I talk on fatherhood like what are the challenges involved, things we learn and deal with on daily basis. To understand not just the baby but also the mood swings of your wife because they are also reborn. My perspective has completely changed for women after I saw what my wife has gone through in that difficult period of bringing someone into this world. That feeling of what a lady go through is unbelievable.

There's so much going on in your personal life. And then there's cricket and now roadies. How are you balancing everything?

Yeah, it is getting tough to be honest to travel around from one place to another but luckily in my case, I am not as busy as these guys are with roadies because I have given a limited number of days to MTV. I am giving more priority to my family and then cricket is obviously there. I have to do it all.

Rannvijay also said that you're a big bully on the sets of Roadies! What do you have to say on that?

Am I? Let me check with him (laughs). Everyone is good at it. I don't think people bully here but we've lots of fun on set. Rannvijay is there for almost 14 years, people love and respect him for what he does on the show. I didn't know too much about the show and I saw that these guys were taking auditions so everyone who came for it, look up to Rannvijay.