December 17, 2017
Soha Ali Khan, an Oxford graduate who pursued a masters
degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science, says her
parents didn't particularly encourage her to take up acting but never
discouraged her from following her heart either.
Soha is the youngest
daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and the late Mansoon Ali Khan
Pataudi.
"As far as acting is concerned, I wouldn't say I was discouraged
from acting but I was not encouraged to be an actor. My parents certainly felt
my personality was not suited to acting in Hindi films and so I would be happier
and better at doing something else. Also, they felt, like any parent, a little
protective as there's a lot of competition, insecurity and unpredictability in
the film industry," Soha told IANS over phone from Mumbai.
She says they
always wanted her to opt for something "stable" and so she gave working at
Citigroup as a private banker a try.
"It was about making my parents
proud and especially for my father... I wanted to make him proud. I knew he
wanted me to do something more in the corporate space. So I tried that but my
heart was really not in it, which is why then I started working in films. It was
a difficult choice but I knew my parents would embrace it whole-heartedly.
"Ultimately, they wanted me to be happy. They were not ones to dictate that
'You're not allowed to do this, or you must do this'. They believe in letting
you go and let you live your life. They will be there to pick you up if you fall
down," added the actress, now a mother to a girl.
Having featured in
films like "Rang De Basanti", "Tum Mile" and "Go Goa Gone", Soha has come up
with her debut book titled "The Perils of Being Moderately Famous", in which she
talks about how she is not "really" in the league of her family members and yet
not being "entirely anonymous".
She says even though she was drawn to the
acting world, there was always an emphasis on education in her family.
"Especially in my mother's side of the family. My mother's mother had a masters
degree, which was very rare at that time for a woman. Education has always been
prized in our family," said Soha, whose mother Sharmila is related by birth to
the famous Tagore family of Bengal.
"I always wanted to study. There has
also been a tradition of going to the Oxford University... My grandfather, my
father... So, I wanted to go there. I would like my daughter to go there too,
but I wouldn't put pressure. It's a wonderful place to study. And more than what
you get there academically, it's the whole life of being there, the exposure to
that history and architecture, making the contacts... It's great education."
On the career front, she hopes to be back to the screen soon though she is
enjoying her motherhood phase. She gave birth to her and actor Kunal Kemmu's
daughter Inaaya Naumi Kemmu in September.