Model Bharat Arora and his mother Punam Arora live in different cities — he in Mumbai, she in Delhi. Ever since Bharat moved to Mumbai and started working round-the-clock in television serials, and juggling his advertising and modelling assignments (for print and the ramp), the mother-son duo has been able to catch up only when Bharat returns fleetingly to Delhi. Occasionally his mother travels to Mumbai to spend time with him. The model — best known as the Mountain Dew dude — has done ads for Yamaha, Hutch, Pantaloons and Motorola; and is currently acting in Ektaa Kapoor’s Kahiin Toh Hoga. But time and distance hasn’t changed much and the model-actor insists that he is very much a mamma’s boy.

Bharat:

I have had a mixed upbringing — spankings from my father, and complete indulgence, on the other hand, from my mother. This did help in a balanced childhood. Even now, the kind of person I am — pampered and carefree — is all thanks to my mother. I was a very mischievous kid. In fact I was quite notorious and did dangerous things like swinging from the pelmets when I was barely three. Of course, the pelmet came crashing down and to this day, I have a scar on the bridge of my nose to remind me of that incident. Even in such extreme cases, my mother would always be the first to take care of me and chide me later. With my father it was the other way around.

While I was growing up, late-night parties were an issue at home. My mother would, of course, help to cover up for me.

I have always been comfortable with sharing my problems and secrets with her. To this day, my best friends are aware of the fact that I discuss stuff with her, that I don’t sometimes tell them. I am 24-years-old and yet I am not embarrassed to say that when I go back home, my mother actually feeds me home-cooked food with her own hands!

We try to catch up on lost time by visiting each other as much as possible. I do visit Delhi very often. If I go to Delhi for the fashion weeks or on modelling assignments, I stay on to be with my family. I try and spend festivals like Diwali with them as well. Last month I was shooting in Jaipur, which is just a three-hour drive from Delhi, and I made sure that I stopped by for a few days. For my mother or me, neither of us is really far away from each other.

I admire my mother as she is one of the most compassionate and giving women I’ve come across. My father too, swears by her giving nature — even after 25 years of marriage, he says, this remains unchanged. And everyone around her seems to do the same. She smiles even during the most trying times.

Even my friends are comfortable with discussing their problems with her. For instance, there’s my friend, DJ Iggy in Delhi, whose mother is in Goa. Whenever he misses her or wants to talk to someone, he heads to my home and spends time chatting with my mother. She is truly a person who can make you feel warm even in the coldest phase of your life.

Punam:

The fact that Bharat is now away from home does make me sad at times. When he left for Mumbai to be part of a television show, Remix, I was so upset that for days I was prone to sudden tears. He too realised how anxious I was about him. And so as not to worry me, every time he fell sick he’d call his sister instead of me and ask her to consult the doctor without my knowledge.

There are things that are not bought in this house now that Bharat is in Mumbai. For instance, he loves bananas and rajma cooked by me. It must seem radical to some, but I refuse to either cook the dish or get bananas into the house. These things only remind me of his absence.

When I visited him recently in Mumbai, we had a great time. He took me to the famous Siddhi Vinayak temple and we went strolling along Chowpatty among other things. Whenever he comes home, I spend lot of time in planning the menu and try and prepare all his favourite dishes like sarson da saag, gajar ka halwa and panjiri.

I have always tried to be a mother and a friend at the same time. Which is, perhaps, why he confides in me about everything. I have also consciously shielded him from my husband’s strictness. I remember the time when after learning how to drive, he took the car out one night. His father was taken aback by the fact that the car was missing from the garage at night. I had to convince him that the driver had taken it to run an errand.

His father has always had reservations about Bharat attending late-night parties. But I made sure Bharat could go out and have fun. The best part is that my son understands me completely. So the minute I’d call him and ask him to return home, no matter how much he was enjoying himself, he’d make it a point to come back immediately.

As a child, though, Bharat was very naughty. The moment we’d buy him a toy, he would take it apart and then try to put it back together. Applying the scissors to our curtains was another passion with him. Now that very son is gracing the pages of magazines and walking the ramp. There have been occasions that have touched me immensely. For instance, with his first pay cheque, Bharat took me to Satya Paul and bought me designer saris. And then on my birthday, both he and my daughter bought me a diamond nose-pin. These are moments that I have cherished.

It makes me proud that my son is a model and that he doesn’t accept anything from us and insists on making his own living. But yes, I do want him to go that extra mile and achieve something more in life.