MUMBAI: Somy Ali was part of Bollywood for only seven years, but she is still recognized as one of the finest actors B’Town has seen. While the film set was not new to her, she understood that people often imitate what actors do both on and off screen. However, she was not one to follow them ever.
Asked if people tend to imitate celebrities more for their fashion, fitness, lifestyle, or relationships, she said, “We forget that celebrities are just people like us—except they have a whole lot of fame and power. The unfortunate part is when that power is abused, yet they go unaccountable, facing no consequences and being worshipped regardless of what the actual person behind the celebrity may have done.”
She has been around cameras and celebrities since she was five, and so even the thought of imitating a celebrity never came to her mind. She said, “I have always lived life on my own terms. I grew up in a film studio as a child, given that my father was the biggest film producer, director, and DOP in Pakistan. I faced the camera for the first time in an ad film for my father when I was just five years old. So I was far too familiar with the film and ad industry from a young age. Nothing ever enamored me—nor has to this day—to imitate any celebrity.”
In fact, she revealed, the tables have turned in her case. “On the contrary, my NGO and my T-shirt ideas have actually been replicated by a celebrity, which I find highly flattering,” she said, adding, “There’s a saying, ‘Never meet your heroes—you’re bound to be disappointed.’ And trust me, I’ve experienced that to an extreme degree in several situations.”
Somy is someone who has seen both—the glimmer and the grime of the entertainment world—and said, “It’s a huge problem because they always seem to have a ‘get out of jail free’ card. It took years, whether in the U.S. or elsewhere, to see any consequences for heinous acts committed by worshipped criminals, be they celebrities or politicians. In real life, the bad guys often win. And for many who suffer atrocities, there are no happy endings. They never see the light of justice, or even a semblance of hope.”
As for her acting journey, she calls it accidental and said that she never considered herself a celebrity and added, “Who travels at 16 to marry a movie star with zero intention of acting and then ends up being approached by Dharamji to be launched opposite Bobby Deol? My journey as an actor was purely fate. I ended up working with the biggest A-list actors as a leading lady, with absolutely no interest.”
She continued, “Serendipitous would be the most fitting word for my journey in the Hindi film industry. And then, Hollywood came out of nowhere, with my unscripted reality show Fight or Flight airing on Discovery+ and Amazon Prime. That, too, was pure fate.”
But Somy stressed that what’s meant to happen will happen. “Whether good or bad, if it’s destined for you, it’s impossible to escape. From Parveen Babi to Guru Dutt to Marilyn Monroe—it’s extremely lonely at the top. The bigger you get, the fewer people remain in your life,” she said.
“As a celebrity, I’ve experienced that people always want something from you. They use you, lie to you, deceive you, and some even try to extort money. But that’s part of the territory—we’ve essentially sold our souls to the devil,” she added.
Though she agrees that there are perks of being a celebrity, she believes there are some disadvantages too. She asked, “Why are so many celebrities unable to sleep without alcohol? They have too many demons and need something to numb the pain. In my opinion, it’s a dark world. I truly believe saving a child from being trafficked is far more valuable than hero-worship. But no one wants to talk about that. No one wants to hear reality. They prefer to live in a fantasy—and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
“I’m a realist. My answers will always be pragmatic, because I genuinely don’t care what anyone thinks or says about me,” she said. “In fact, I know I’m on the right path when people gossip about me or follow my every move. That’s what happens when you’re a celebrity. I ignore it all and do my own thing. I have nothing I want from any of these celebrities—so I don’t care. I believe in fate,” Somy ended.
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