There are different stages in everyone’s career. While some stay on the same path, some explore different avenues. Somy Ali belongs to the second category. After starting her journey as an actor in Bollywood, she now runs her NGO, No More Tears (NMT), in Miami, US. And, she is happy to have listened to her heart and become a humanitarian. At the same time she is open to taking up good acting opportunities as well.
“I have put my blood, sweat, attacked several times, had a gun held to my head, depleted all my savings into No More Tears and, yet, not a single day goes by where I regret any of what I have endured or done. This is my calling from up above and I truly believe that when one endures atrocities there are two paths to pick. One is that of self pity and wallowing in depression, or the other is to stand tall, stop feeling sorry for yourself and keep going no matter what hurdles come your way. And, this does not just apply to my work with No More Tears, but also any other professions. I have failed not once, but several times and I have no shame in admitting my failures because it is only those failures that teach us how to be successful. We learn from our mistakes and if I had not grown up in chaos and had a chaotic relationship during my time in India, there wouldn’t be an NGO called No More Tears. We must have a mindset of turning a horror movie into a love story. If you change your life’s script given now that you are in control, you have already won half the battle,” she says.
Biologically and psychologically our personalities develop by the age of 8-9 years old, shares Somy. Thus, the plus here is that she has learnt body and mind to thrive in chaos and mastered the art of multitasking.
“One day I can be posing for a magazine and feel glamorous in a gorgeous gown while that very night, I would be in an emergency room in pajamas comforting a domestic violence victim. These two acts are not mutually exclusive. Just because I run NMT, does not mean I still don’t feel the need to be glamorous,” she adds.
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Looking, she recalls being bullied when she moved to the U.S. at the age of 9 and then she moved to India to pursue a crush, not acting, she was mocked, made fun of and even slut shamed.
“To this day the people I left behind in Mumbai, who were my alleged friends, still maintain the same mindset about me. But I feel victorious because I know who I am, what I did and most importantly why I did it. What others think of me is none of my business and the older you get the smaller your friend circle gets because you are able to see right through people’s facade. I am in a happy place now, however, I know and have faith in the higher power that one day I will be vindicated. Let me clarify, I am not a vindictive person and I don’t seek revenge, but what I seek and wait for is being vindicated,” she says.
Ask if she feels a lot of struggles led her to miss out on a few opportunities, Somy adds, “It’s hard to struggle for something when you are not remotely interested in owning it. I did not struggle at all and miraculously I was cast opposite the ten biggest actors of the Hindi film industry. I was a teenager left alone in a hotel room with no guidance whatsoever. I didn’t even know what a moisturiser was until Dingy (Amrita Singh) on the sets of Aao Pyar Karen asked me, “Don’t you use a moisturiser.? It was she who taught me what it is and how to apply it before putting on makeup because I have very dry skin in some areas of my face. Thus, the opportunities were there, but the want of taking advantage of those opportunities was completely absent.”
Somy is now ready to take up work in the industry. Much like her NGO journey, she wants to do substantial roles that will be entertaining as well as send out a message that will help the society.
