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DIVA Soha Ali Khan talks about her life before and after films.RANA SIDDIQUI

Youngsters choose their own icons. Some choose Shah Rukh Khan as their role model. Others root for Soha Ali Khan for, as Mahim Gupte, a student of DPS, Delhi, says, “she is a blend of beauty, intellect and grace”. Mahim is right.
Despite being from the famous Pataudi family, Soha is not only grounded but also never tried to cash in on her family background. She first completed her studies, took up a job outside the film world and then moved to films. She attended The British School in New Delhi, did her graduation in History at Balliol College, Oxford University, and Masters in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. She worked for the Ford Foundation and Citibank and also served on the advisory board of an entrepreneur group called Res Publica.
Many think that Soha was tempted to join films because of the family connection. But she clarifies, “I was very active in theatre in my school, college and university days. I also learnt classical dances out of sheer love for it. Most students used to go home after the school would close at 2.00 p.m., but I used to stay back till 5.00 p.m., doing all that. So when the offer to work in films came, I was thrilled. It is such a seductive industry that if you like acting, you can’t say no to it.”
Of course there were some objections from her father Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi “because Abba wasn’t exposed to films directly and was not a great filmgoer either. But my parents educated me not just for degrees but for empowerment and enabled us to take our own decisions. So when I decided to join films, Abba might have restrained me for his own reasons, but he still believed in me,” recalls Soha.
Success for Soha has come at a price. It has robbed her of her privacy and freedom. “It’s very difficult to be anonymous now. I can’t walk on the streets freely. Moreover, there are a lot of true or untrue things are written about me. I have to take all in my stride.”
Soha also ran with the Olympic torch on April 17. “It was an honour for me,” she says overwhelmingly. Running for Soha is not a tiring exercise. She has been into all kinds of sports in her academic days. “I played badminton, tennis, basket ball, volley ball, soccer and was an athlete.” But exercise for Soha is not about going to gym. “I get bored with the gym very quickly. I don’t go to gym for weeks together, Instead, I prefer to do exercise through my classical dance and yoga,” she shares.

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