Former actor and humanitarian Somy Ali, who has appeared in films including Anth, Krishan Avtaar, Yaar Gaddar, Teesra Kaun?, Aao Pyaar Karen, Mafia, Andolan and Chupp, said acting gave her more than a career, shaping her understanding of human behaviour, a perspective that now informs her work through her NGO, No More Tears, which supports survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
Reflecting on how acting shaped her outlook, Somy said, “Spending years stepping into different characters completely changed the way I see people. When you live inside someone else’s pain, silence, fear and quiet strength for weeks or months, you stop judging human behaviour so quickly. You begin to understand the invisible weight people carry. What looks like weakness is often survival, and what looks like strength is sometimes the only option left. Acting taught me to look beneath the surface, and real life has taught me to honour what I find there.”
Among all her roles, Somy said Asha in Chupp remains the most defining and emotionally challenging. “On the surface, it was just a role, but for me it was far more complicated. Every day on that set I was carrying multiple layers of pain. There was the abuse I was portraying on screen, the abuse I was experiencing in my own relationship at the time, the abuse I had witnessed with my mother, and the stories of so many other women I had begun to encounter. The lines between fiction and reality kept dissolving,” she said.
She also recalled working with the late Om Puri during emotionally demanding scenes, saying, “During the most intense scenes, Om Puri ji was incredibly careful with me. We would sometimes burst into uncontrollable laughter. That laughter wasn’t disrespect; it was my body’s way of surviving everything those scenes were triggering. It was the only protection I had when the pain on camera and the pain in my real life collided so completely.”
Somy said the experience forced her to confront truths she had long avoided. “It taught me how deeply I had learned to cope by disappearing inside myself, by turning trauma into performance and by laughing so I wouldn’t completely break. Chupp forced me to look at my own wounds and the larger pattern of silence I had absorbed. It was painful, but it also helped me realise that my ability to feel deeply wasn’t only a burden, it became the beginning of my purpose,” she said.
She added that emotionally intense characters rarely leave immediately after filming ends. “A character like Asha stays with you. The emotions don’t simply switch off when the director says ‘cut’. You carry them in your body, your sleep and the way you look at the world. For me, the healing comes through my work with No More Tears. Sitting with survivors, helping protect them and watching them rebuild their lives transforms that pain into something meaningful. Meditation, yoga, manifesting and the love of people close to me also help me return to myself,” she explained.
Somy also reflected on another chapter from her career, saying the experience surrounding Bulund challenged her personally. “It forced me to confront fears around control, agency and self-worth. I realised how much of my own voice I had surrendered. That painful experience planted the first seeds of awareness that I deserved more freedom, more respect and more ownership of my life. It eventually became part of the strength that helped me heal and build No More Tears,” she said.
Today, Somy said her understanding of acting has evolved beyond technical performance. “When I first started, I thought a good performance was about looking the part, delivering the lines well and hitting the right emotional notes. Today, I believe a truly good performance begins with understanding who the character really is, their history, contradictions, wounds and the invisible forces shaping their choices. A performance isn’t just about being believable; it’s about being truthful. At its best, it helps people feel seen, understood and sometimes even begins the process of healing. That’s why acting and advocacy feel deeply connected to me. They’re both about holding space for another person’s truth,” she concluded.
Also Read: Somy Ali pens emotional note after “father figure” Salim Khan’s hospitalisation: “He means more to me than words can say”
from Featured Movie News | Featured Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama
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