MUMBAI : Somy Ali’s life is quite an interesting one. The actor turned humanitarian, who now runs her NGO No More Tears, takes fans on a walk down memory lane about how and what made her become the person she is today.
“I grew up in an extremely beautiful house in Karachi, Pakistan, and as beautiful as it was aesthetically from the outside, the more horrific incidents took place inside the 28 bedroom mansion. I was used to chaos and it still follows me, but now I thrive in chaotic situations and by this I mean I am able to run my NGO hands on as I deal with traffickers and abusers fearlessly. My father started out as director of photography then went on to producing and directing several films in Pakistan. My dad's film studio was on the ground floor of our home and we resided on the third floor. However, I practically grew on my dad's film sets and watched him direct countless newcomers. This is why my parents fought as my mom was a rebellious woman, not your typical docile Muslim woman. Hence, there were many fights and domestic violence between my parents due to my dad's affairs with his heroines,” she says.
Revealing some more details, she adds, “While my mom was being abused for speaking for herself, I was being sexually abused by the cook in the house when I was five years old and then later again by the gatekeeper at the age of nine. I barely could focus in school and would always stare out the window unbeknownst to me that I was suffering from severe PTSD and ongoing trauma. I don't have any good memories of my childhood unfortunately aside from being extremely fond of netball, swimming and playing cricket. I loved sports until I couldn't when I developed a tumor in my left leg and had to be operated on. This occurred when I nine right after the sexual abuse incident. Henceforth, I was sent off to the US for surgery with my mother as my uncle resided in Miami at the time and was studying to be an engineer.”
Then came a time when Somy decided to come to India. And, her experience was more bad and less good, if she would “put it mildly”.
She says, “I went there to pursue a crush which as a reporter I am sure you know and that decision at 16 to move to another country after being infatuated by a character I watched in a movie was the death of me. It still haunts me because the character was the complete opposite in real life. What has been bothersome to me my entire life is complete unpredictability no matter which country I am living in or who I am living with. No one is purely good or bad and there is no such thing as black and white when it comes to humans because all have several shades and we display those shades with whomever we feel deserves that specific color. I saw many shades during my time in India, be it in intimate relationships, professional and even with my friendships. But my worst nightmare was my relationship which I am still suffering from as I am still being bullied even though I broke off the relationship 22 years ago.”
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