Soha Ali Khan is currently making headlines for her performance as the antagonist in the recently released Chhorri 2. She essayed the role of Daasi Maa, alongside the protagonist Nushrratt Bharuccha.
During an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Soha spoke about how she was made aware of her mother, veteran actress Sharmila Tagore's expansive filmography across languages.
Reacting to how having such a prolific actor as her mother impacted her, Soha shared, "I think growing up actually to be honest, I wasn't so aware of all the incredible work that my mother had done. It was only after I joined films and then I became interested in films. And I do remember, especially when I was invited to go to Harvard to speak about cinema. After Rang De Basanti was released, my mother and I both went and at that point, I remember in a couple of months I saw maybe 50-60 films, and at that time I saw a lot of films."
Soha added, "Of course, I then remarked upon how versatile she's been bridging languages, and being a part of such path-breaking cinema at such a young age and having had the opportunity to work with such a visionary filmmaker like Ray. So that's when I became aware of the work, and I've seen a lot of it since. My favourite is Devi, just for being so disturbing, especially that last image of the girl running into the fields and you're not sure how it ends and it leaves you feeling very uncomfortable and some of the issues they dealt with even then so many years ago. Still plagues us, and we're still not able to capture it with such subtlety and with so many nuances, and to make such impactful cinema today."
Sharmila Tagore was a reigning queen at the cinemas in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Particularly her extensive work in Bengali cinema with Satyajit Ray such as Nayak: The Hero, Aranyer Din Ratri, Devi, and The World Of Apu, to name a few have left an irreplaceable mark in the world of exceptional cinema.
On being asked about the one advice that her mother has ever given her, Soha shared, "The most memorable piece of advice that she has given me to date, has been never to marry an actor. I think the concern was that, you know, actors, emotions and feelings go up and down every Friday, not just depending on their success, but depending on the market. Other people's success and the hit and success of another film, and things might get volatile, and it might be tiring."
She added, "But as we all know, I did choose to marry an actor and I think that because my personality is quite constant, I think that we find the right balance."