New Delhi: Actor Soha Ali Khan says she has
always found it absurd people think she should not have opted
for higher studies if she wanted to end up doing films.
The 39-year-old actor studied Modern History at Balliol
College in Oxford and holds a Masters degree in International
Relations from the London School of Economics and Political
Science.
She ultimately decided to follow her mother, veteran
actor Sharmila Tagore and brother Saif Ali Khan's footsteps by
joining films and has no regrets about her decision.
"I have always been asked that 'if you are going work in
films, why did you study so much?' And I always thought that
this does not make sense as a question. Education has nothing
to do with what you do in life.
"There is something magical about films and I did not do
it for as long as I could," Soha said at the launch of her
book "The Perils of Being Moderately Famous" here last night.
The "Rang De Basanti" actor said she decided to pen a
book as she thought she could share her insecurities about
being moderately famous in a family of accomplished artistes
in a humorous way.
"The insecurities coming along with it, comparisons that
are made which are very difficult to live up to and I feel
there is a very big shoe to fill," Soha said in conversation
with senior journalist Barkha Dutt.
She was also joined by her mother on the panel.
"I also feel that striking the right tone with readers
about my failures, insecurities and the learning step that
come across, but at the same time, not being too hard on
myself, was the most difficult thing for me," she added.
Soha said she had penned essays and columns in newspapers
and writing a full-fledged book proved to be a daunting task
for her.
"I wanted to write a non-fiction work because I don't
have the imagination for creative fiction. I felt there are
certain things about my life that I could draw from and that
might be humorous," she said.
The actor also said that her family support does not mean
that they blindly endorse her decisions.
"I did share that (her decision to write a book) with
some of my family members and friends. They are not the kind
of people who blindly praise me. There was a lot of
constructive feedback and it was more or less encouraging,
that's how I wrote this book," Soha said.
PTI
