Some family stories are strange, some are macabre, and some, as actress Pooja Bhatt recently revealed, manage to be both at once.
A funeral for a limb
Appearing on Cyrus Broacha’s podcast, Bhatt described the incident as a “macabre” story from her family history, centred on her maternal grandmother. “I’ll tell you a really macabre funeral story. My grandmother, my mother’s mother, Betty Bertha Bright, Beatrice Bertha Bright. She was half Armenian and half English or Irish,” she said.
A woman as tough as nails
Bhatt described her grandmother as strong willed, recalling her upbringing in Kolkata during the Raj and the diabetes that eventually led to the amputation of her leg. “She was as tough as nails, Armenian. She grew up in Kolkata during the Raj and developed diabetes later on in her life. So her leg had to be amputated. So when the leg was amputated, she insisted on a funeral for the leg,” Bhatt said.
The ceremony took place at a local church even though the grandmother in question was very much alive. “So, all of us had to go to St Andrew’s Church while she was present as her leg was being buried,” Bhatt recalled.
Watching everyone’s reactions
The family found themselves unsure how to respond during the ceremony. “And we were looking at each other and saying, ‘What’s this? This is a run-up to the final day,’ and she was looking at everybody and getting a feel or taking notes,” Bhatt said. At this point, Broacha jokingly remarked, “The depth of your affection.” Bhatt responded by attributing the episode to her family’s brand of humour. “This is a slight glimpse into my... this is totally black humour,” she said.
According to Bhatt, her grandmother appeared to be closely observing the room throughout the ceremony. “She was watching everyone’s expressions to see how they were behaving, who showed up and who didn’t,” she said.
Despite their confusion, the family chose to go along with her wishes. “We are like, ‘What are we doing?’ but then we’re like, ‘Shh, let’s go through with it,’” Bhatt said.
Bhatt was last seen in the web series Big Girls Don’t Cry, and continues to keep her family’s more unconventional stories firmly within earshot of her fans.
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.