Somy Ali was one of the topmost names in the 1990s before she decided to leave it all and go on a path of humanitarian activities. But did you know the legendary Smita Patil was the one who inspired Somy Ali to become an actress?
Most of us are usually inspired by someone or the other to follow a certain professional path. Somy Ali too had her role models and knew coming to Mumbai will help her become someone like them. Here the actor turned humanitarian, who now runs her NGO, NO More Tears, talks about what inspired her to become an actor.
“The first person that comes to mind would have to be the late and gone beyond too soon is one my favourite Smita Patil ji. Nowadays, it’s actors like Amit ji [Amitabh Bachchan], Kaka ji (Rajesh Khanna), Shah Rukh [Khan], Aamir [Khan], Rekha ji Meryl Streep, Adil Hussain, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, and Alia [Bhatt] (for her performance in Gangubai). Of course one can ever contest the brilliance of Madhuri [Dixit Nene] ji, Kajol, Tabu, Rani [Mukerji], and Taapsee [Pannu]. They are all phenomenal and know their craft extraordinarily well. As for inspiration, it would have to be the people mentioned above for me in the present time,” she says.
When it comes to role models, Somy feels inclined towards underdogs. She adds, “People who come from nothing and are treated badly, bullied and in some instances even physically and verbally abused. Those are the real heroes like Kangana [Ranaut] and what she encountered and in spite of it how remarkably brilliant of a performer she turned out to be. Recently I saw an interview of another beautiful actor Sonam [Kapoor] where she said she did not have an interest at all in acting, yet all her characters were extremely justified and played beautifully in every single film. I look up to people who don't let rejection veer them in the opposite direction and this includes many actors like Nawazuddin and of course Shah Rukh.”
Agreeing that an individual needs a mentor for personal growth as well as in career, she says, “This world can be really nasty and it's human nature to think selfishly and put oneself first before others. Therefore, if you are in a new town/jungle amongst predators with no protection and all alone, you’ll not survive a single day. This is why you need to have one or two genuine people who care for you and will not steer you in the wrong direction. This goes for both young men and women because evil does not discriminate and hurts each equally.”
On whether she believes in a proper benchmark in acting, Somy explains, “I don't believe so because it places one in a pigeonhole and people expect to see the same performance each and every time. One needs to embrace diversity and dip their feet in numerous muddy waters to get a feel of each character's psyche. Evolution is progression and very significant for any kind of performer.”
Actors may be very good in their emotional scenes all the time, but what people forget is how the majority of actors go through personal emotional disturbances and at times need their space. Life is not easy for anyone.
“We forget that actors are human beings too and we all endure emotional pain no matter how big of a star one might be. In addition to that without sadness and turmoil, how will we appreciate happiness? Whether we are actors or come from any field we should have the wisdom to know that life brings ups and downs, successes and failures and none of us are exempt from this reality of life. We should also know that nothing stays permanent which is why we should show more gratitude rather than lament about our pasts and failures, rather, always wake up knowing that this too shall pass just like everything else does,” she shares.
Ask if while doing emotional or dramatic scenes, she utilises her own emotion or uses glycerine, in short what process she goes through and Somy adds, “Not yet. But in the acting schools in the US, they specifically taught us how to avoid the use of glycerin. In all my films, the only film I did not use glycerin while I was in Mumbai was Chupp. This was solely because of Om Puri ji and Jeetu (Jeetendra) ji as they were so supportive with my dialogue delivery and they taught me so much about performance. It's my stroke of bad luck because I was on my way out and I had already planned to go back home to Miami.”