I'm a typical Delhi girl. Professional parents, nuclear family. My father was in the navy. I've spent my whole life in government accommodation, and it's been lovely.
I was an avid 'Chitrahaar' and 'Superhit Muqqabala' watcher. We did not have cable TV for a long time, so that was my only source of entertainment growing up. My great fantasy was to be in 'Chitrahaar!'
I was an avid reader as a child. I am losing that habit now, as my brain congeals into cabbage from wearing too many heels and too much foundation.
All my life I have faced this awkwardness, as I almost sound like a guy. In fact, whenever I would call my friends, their dads would say, 'Hold on son.'
As a student, I was a total jhalli who used to wear torn denims, faded kurtis, kohled eyes and thought that I was the coolest girl ever! We were a bunch of students who used to do social-issue-based street plays and believed that we could bring about a change in the world.
I feel glamour has a legit place on the ramp and in the fashion world. In films, glamour has to service the story.
Bollywood, as an industry, is based on relationships. It has always been star-driven, and it has an element of feudalism.
Honestly, and seriously, I know I have to do a Telugu film. It was my grandmother's dream to see me in a Telugu film before she died. I couldn't fulfil her dream before she passed away, but I don't want to let go of it, either.
In the industry, I am judged by what I wear. If I want to be taken seriously, I have to hire a team of stylists. It's an occupational hazard. But it's not as though I am any less of a feminist.
When I came to Mumbai, I didn't know a soul. The only person I knew was an assistant director, which, everyone agrees, is the lowest form of life on the set. So, it was not a great contact to have. So, I knew from day one that I wasn't going to be launched opposite a superstar.
The contentious issue of pay parity between male and female actors is easily resolvable if a number of big actresses decide to put their foot down. But we have to also consider the factors of time and labour. If a female actor has shot only for 40 days and the male actor for 200 days, she cannot expect to be paid the same amount.
Mumbai is a spider web. You do a film and make 10 connections and do something else and make 10 more connections. You keep moving like that.
Let me be honest - I might do a franchise film like 'Golmaal' if it comes my way. Eventually, we are all in Mumbai to become bigger stars, not better actors.
I have become a little more cynical and, I would like to believe, a little wiser. When I first came to Mumbai, I was very idealistic. Now I can look anyone in the face and tell a lie. But I'm in a good place.
I am a self-destructive idiot.
Frankly, Indian women inherit this collective cultural unconscious - this sense of guilt, shame, and dishonour. I think Indian girls need to become shameless and a little selfish, too.
When I grew up, I realised what an amazing thing my parents did. It was such a big deal for my mom, a middle class woman, to decide to leave her children and husband to go and do her Ph.D. for three years. And my dad, who is even more middle class, a traditional South Indian, to let his wife do that.
