The latest session by YFLO where Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan were the speakers was as interesting as it gets. Soha kept the audience in splits, there were a few bloopers where the misinformed moderator said that Sharmila was born in Hyderabad and then there was a rush of fans to meet the star speakers, who were hesitant to get down the stage in fear of being mobbed.
But all is well that ends well, as the mother-daughter made their way to the hotel room safe and still in good spirits. Hyderabad connection Once in the confines of their rooms, Sharmila opened up about the city she is so attached to.
“I spent a lot of time here. Tiger used to play for Hyderabad, my sister-in-law lives in Begumpet and I have a lot of friends here,” said Sharmila. Recounting an incident when she was travelling to the city, Sharmila said, “I was coming to Hyderabad in a train and we got down at Hazipet because that stretch was usually covered by car. I was with my maid and Saif, who was just six-seven months old. The station was full of people and our car hadn’t reached yet.”
But as soon as people recognised me, there was a buzz, some yelling, ‘Get a chair, switch on the fan, put the milk on boil…’ Hyderabad is my favourite city.”
Mother-daughter team
Mum might come across as a disciplinarian, but we have a good bond. Growing up, she would have these set rules that we used to exploit and get in trouble for. I remember coming home late in the night and she was up, sitting in the dark living room scarily,” said Soha.
She narrates another incident when she was 18. “I promised my parents that I would never join films as they were against it,” said Soha, adding, “I was on a holiday with Saif bhai in Mumbai. We decided to prank our parents and we called them up saying I was not going to Oxford but was joining films. I thought it was funny but when Saif spoke to them over the phone his face turned pale with fear. “Through it all, we have been a team. Soha has always been very inviting, always let me in her life. Both of us also have similar interests — like doing crossword puzzles, reading, similar films and support causes,” said Sharmila.
Journey through the years
“It’s quite ironic that I am here talking about my life as a source of inspiration because when I started work in films, I was 13 and the profession was looked down upon. My teacher at the Bengali medium school that I studied in told my family that if I continued with films, I should drop out of school because I was not going to be a good influence. But here I am, I have three doctorates from three different universities,” says Sharmila.
“I enrolled in a college because I wanted to have a normal life and also keep in touch with people of my age group because I was working in an industry where people were 20 years older than me. But the students would either dismiss me or be overly star struck, that didn’t work out for me. Education is important, it gives you the confidence that I lacked then,” she said.
Soha, on the other hand, admits not watching a lot of her mother’s films growing up. “In my defense, mum tends to die a lot in her films or people close to her do; so that can be a very traumatic viewing for a child,” she says with a laugh.
