Former Bollywood actress turned activist, Somy Ali works closely with rape and domestic victims who’ve been rescued through her NGO, No More Tears. But that does not mean that she is not aware of what is happening in Indian cinema. She calls Indian entertainment in its current avatar, “the brave new world for female actors”.

She goes on to elaborate, “It’s not tough to be an actor in today’s film-making scenario. On the contrary, it has developed into a craft, which is much more liberal and has opened pathways, especially for female actors that were not available even as early as five years ago. With Netflix giving opportunities to the likes of the beautiful and brilliant Madhuri Dixit, I think it’s a brave new world for female actors.

She adds, “There has always been a genuine bias towards women the minute they cross over the age of 35. I have seen that literally change and slowly disappear, which is a sign of progress in so many ways. I can only visualise this trend growing stronger in the future.”

Somy, in her own words, has been a reluctant actress during her stint in Bollywood. Her debut film, Anth (1994), is also one of the most popular action films of the 90s. Talking about her journey in filmdom, she says, “The only obstacle in my film journey has been me as I had this self-destructive attitude of having no interest in acting and secondly, leading ladies in the 90s’ era were mainly used as props. Even a film like Anth ended up making it to the silver jubilee, however, it was justifiably recognised for Suniel’s (Shetty) tremendous dedication and hard work. It also rightfully received great recognition for its phenomenal action.”