15th February, Mumbai: Actress Somy Ali doesn’t care much for Valentine’s Day and says that when you love someone unconditionally, these days have no meaning. Somy, who runs a US-based NGO called No More Tears and helps victims of domestic violence and rape, says that when the people who she helps thrive, that gives her the most joy, much more than what V- day ever can!
“On Valentine’s Day, I go to work just like it’s another normal work day for me. And it’s not because I am older, but even when I was a teenager, I deemed all these man-made days to be rather fictitious and ridiculous. When we are in love and not just romantic love, we do not need a designated day to show or give that love to those individuals. It’s nothing but an economic boost and makes teenagers happy or even grown-ups thrilled, for that matter. But I don’t fall for such inventions created by human beings to depict love on a specific day. In fact, I find it rather silly and childlike,” she says.
She adds, “Love is unconditional and love is when the person who loves you is beside you when you are at your worst. Love is sacrificing small things that matter to one another whether it’s romantic love, familial or in a friendship. Love has no boundaries and no religion. Love is not complex, rather extremely simple. To love is to live and give all of yourself to those you love. I give all my love to the survivors through my organization. When they thrive, I thrive. When they are happy, I am happy. That to me is love. Sharing joy and giving love to those who are in need is my kind of love.”
In fact, even while she was growing up, Somy was never a very social person. “I do not choose to have a lot of friends because one I don’t have the time and two, I like to spend a great deal of my free time on my own. I like reading books and my thirst to learn new things in my spare time is endless. I would deem myself more of a recluse than a misanthrope. We must learn to be alone because people come and go which is a harsh reality of life. It is always less hurtful when you have zero expectations from people. I am not being cynical, rather pragmatic,” she says.
The nature of showbiz is such that you are alone, says Somy, adding, “In my opinion everyone is lonely at their highest point in life. That’s the nature of Hollywood or be it Bollywood. It’s harder to make a distinction between who is a true friend when one has achieved so much fame and success and has become larger than life. This leads to loneliness even when you are surrounded by thousands screaming out your name. But that’s the sacrifice stars are willing to make hence it comes with the territory. One can be the loneliest even if they are in a company of many. It’s all perspective and a state of mind.”
She adds, “People, here in the industry, can’t be even if they want to because they have trouble trusting people. Remember, once you are famous and successful you have at that very moment lost the ability and choice of being your real selves. You inevitably have to carry a persona and a facade of a superstar no matter how humble you try to depict yourself to be your arrogance will appear in one form or another.”