1 Eisha A Chopra ACTOR AND SCREENWRITER
“When I decided to become an actor, I met with the head of a prestigious agency, who had seen my photographs. She glanced at me for a second and said, ‘Come out with me for a smoke’. There I was, in a stairwell full of cigarette smoke, all dolled up, when her words hit me: ‘Look, you are pretty. But you are not ‘magazine’ pretty. It is just never going to happen for you.’ To her, and hundreds of others I have had such encounters with, I would like to say F-Off. I am sorry they were victims of an unkind world to have such a pessimistic outlook in life…but meeting them taught me to be kinder. And the next time someone comes to me for help, I will tell them to dream big as anything is possible.”
2 Pragya Kapoor FILM PRODUCER AND ENVIRONMENTALIST
“I remember being bullied in school for my skin colour. It began as furtive shoves and whispered insults, which eventually escalated to full-blown harassment. It was distressing, and the worst part is that I never retaliated. It continued for six years, until, one day, I decided to confront them. Intoxicated with a rush of adrenaline or, perhaps, pent-up frustration made me give it back to them…and it worked. The nasty comments stopped. But, sometimes, bullies win. They fail to realise their behaviour can have a devastating impact on the bullied. It even haunts some victims their whole lives. Now that my children are in school, I don’t wish their lives to follow the same pattern as mine—I want them to be compassionate individuals, but don’t want them to put up with bullying. Hence, I try to encourage kindness, inclusivity, and empathy at home, and frequently remind them that ‘being mean is a sign of weakness’.”
3 Saie Tamhankar ACTOR
“Everyone goes through trying times, and these hurdles can either make or break us. For me, it has been more about the external environment than my internal struggles. Sometimes, playing a certain kind of role can lead to people forming a certain image of you. It happened to me after I worked in Hunterrr—I was approached for similar scripts for over three years. I have always wanted to take up challenging roles, and I kept trying, because I felt it was important for me to break through and showcase my versatility as an actor. I wanted to let go of the ‘bold actress’ tag. I hate that word…always have. Eventually, I stopped caring about people. I have faith in my acting abilities, and every time
