BLOW HOT, BLOW COLD!

Stardust Magazine
By: Ashwin Varde
June 1991

Not many will have the nerve to do what this sixteen-year-old has. Spurn overnight stardom. But defiant, compelling Somy Ali has done it. The girl who was to be launched by Dharmendra opposite his youngest son Bobby Deol, walked out of the film.

Somy Ali had always nurtured dreams of the faraway film-world. Of glamour and glitz. Of Showbiz and Stardust. And as soon as she was of age, she set out to realise them. Left mom behind, fought with dad, and flew down from Florida to funky town Mumbai. A month later ‘Jaan’ was hers.

Geared up for a great beginning, she was ecstatic. Thanked dear destiny, and her golden stars. But as it turned out be, she had said her grace too soon. ‘Jaan’ became ‘Champion.’ Alterations, revisions, remodeling. Somy was still there but…….. Now the setting was different, the role was new.
Not what she had in mind.
According to the new script she was required to wear micro minis and swimsuits. And Somy said no.

“I will never compromise my principles for anything in the world,” affirmed the pretty face sitting next to me at the coffee shop. “That was not what I wanted to do, expose my body. Certainly not. You tell me, can’t girls survive without having to go through all that? Sure they can. Did Bhagyashree expose? Does Raveena expose? And see how well they’re doing for themselves. And then look at the others who are flaunting their bodies, they are not even half as successful. I mean, sometimes you can’t recognize some stars with their clothes on, isn’t it?” She mocked.

Her audacity amused me. So did her kiddish idealism. “I’m not here for money. That, I have plenty. I mean, I can sit at home all my life doing nothing and still live a grand luxurious life. That’s no hassle.”

But was it right, to refuse the egotistic Deols? “True,” she nodded, “Very true. But only I know what I went through after taking that decision. For days. I was so depressed. Even Bobby called up to say what’s wrong in wearing those shorts. But I was not ready. It was terrible. After all this time, they’d finally found a heroine and now even she was gone.”

‘Champion’ was stalled once again. Dharam knew, another search, one more hunt would at least take a year. And they couldn’t afford to wait, not anymore.
Dharam had preferred Somy to every other girl he had seen and perhaps, that’s why, for the first time, he was willing to compromise. “Dharamji called me up a number of times. He spoke to my dad, he tried to adjustments as much as he could. “He’s such a warm person. He used to call me to his office and like kids we used to chat for hours together. He used to tell me about himself and I would tell him about my life. All this, over numerous glasses of lassis. He used to pat me on my head and say, ‘Beti, tu hi meri heroine banegi’. You know, he was even willing to cut off the swimsuit sequence. But since I played the role of an athlete, I had to wear those shorts. And the shorts that they wanted me to wear were almost like the lower portion of a swimsuit. That short. To make matters easy for them, I even hired a designer, made special shorts for myself to show Shekhar my limits. Even Dharamji approved of them but it was Shekhar who said no. He said I would look odd since all the other girls would be wearing the other shorts. And he was right. Now I didn’t expect them to change the entire script for me. So after many meetings with Dharamji and Shekhar, I finally, had to say no to them.
        “ I know Dharamji must’ve felt a little hurt. Especially since he’s so fond of me. He said to me once, ‘Even if you don’t do my film, let me know which film you’re doing’. And he’s even promised me that after I work with Bobby and Sunny in the future, he’s going to work with me. I think he’s damn cute. When I said no for the last time, he just said, ‘Okay, that’s your decision but you’ll always remain my favourite,” she added with a twinkle in her eyes.

That was Somy Ali. Born in Karachi, brought up in the United States. And now, to live and die happily in India,” she smiled. “You know in America, life is basically a hustle and bustle. You know what I did out there? Get up in the morning, go to school, come home, do my homework, switch on the TV and fall asleep. That was my life. In Karachi it is totally different. There I know of girls, who once, they were out of school, were forced to get married to someone they didn’t love and settle down. I could never stay in a place like that. I just wanted to run away from all this and that’s why, just after I finished school, I came to India. And I’m so glad I did.”
“I was always interested in Hindi films,” Somy continued happily. “That was the only thing that helped me keep in touch with our culture in spite of growing up in America. I used to watch one Hindi film a day. And then, of course there was my favourite ‘Startdust’. The only magazine that kept me in touch with this world. My mom knew I wanted to become an actress and she didn’t mind it. She was my only true friend out there. I was very close to her, I used to confide in her about everything. But my dad was always protective, always overbearing. God, he got so upset on hearing my decision to join films. We used to have arguments, fights and my mom stuck by me throughout. My dad is a film producer in Pakistan so he knew what the film industry was like. But I knew, I could handle the industry on my own, I won finally. My dad had to give in. He agreed. That was the first major decision I took in my life and now, I was going to stick by it.”

So Somy flew down to India. And did her first photo-session. “I had seen an issue of the video magazine ‘Starbuzz’ and in that, there was an interview of this chap, Gautam Rajadhyaksha. And then there was Shabana, Rekha, all of them saying he was their favourite. I though this guy must be some high flier so I decided to get my portfolio done by him.
“Then I went about circulating my pictures. At Lintas, they liked them and I got the ‘Breeze’ ad campaign. It was great fun. That’s where Shekhar saw me for the first time. I still remember the day Dharamji  called me over to show him my pictures. I was so scared, I didn’t know what to say to him, how to greet him. Whether to shake his hands, do namaste, do what! But he really made me feel so comfortable,” she reminisced.
Now that Somy is out of ‘Champion’, what next I asked her. “ There’s this film opposite Salman Khan,” she excitedly informed me. “It’s going to be launched on a grand scale.” Indeed, this film to be produced by Salman’s best friend (which is as good as being the Khan’s home production) is a two crore project to be shot entirely in Nepal and has Helen making a comeback as Salman’s mother. “I play Salman’s sweetheart in the film,” revealed Somy. “I selected this film because the subject is damn interesting. Salman plays a blind man and I’m the one who trains him to take revenge. Never before on Hindi screen has there been a blind action hero. I’ve read the script and I think my role is great. Simply fascinating. See, I’ve already told you I’m not here for the money. I’m here because I want to try out something new. And I think this film serves the purpose since it’s different. As I said earlier, it’s going to launched on a big scale.”

“Offers are pouring in,” she continued. “But now I have to be very selective. Because I can afford to. Pahlajji approached me for a film with Sunil Shetty but I refused because I want to start with something better. I don’t think we’ll match on screen. I mean, we’ll look odd together. The Mirza brothers too had come. But I was advised against it.

“Then I’ve done a session for Yash Chopra and he loved my pictures. I should be meeting him sometime next week to discuss the script with him. Let’s see how that works out. Rahul Rawail too had approached me for his next film. But his heroine was required to wear a two-piece bikini in the film and for me that was simply out of the question.
“I think all girls should conduct themselves in a graceful manner. I hate girls who don’t. That’s one of the reasons I never liked this girl called Pooja Bedi. I mean, I don’t have anything personal against her but I don’t like the way she dresses. You know, all this gives everyone cheap thrills for a while but later, they looking upon the girl as cheap material. Then they’re out to get you, take advantage of you.”
Believe me this industry is full of fakes and liars. Earlier there were a lot of people who advised me what to do and what not to do. But now I’m taking all the decisions on my own.”

She looked so solemn when she said that, so grown up. But then suddenly she broke into giggles like a typical teenager. “Do you know, she tittered, my dad is going to produce a film here. (He is a film producer in Pakistan). But I’ve told him, I don’t want to be in it. I don’t want to take life so easy. I have to struggle and make my own name. My father took care of me for sixteen years. Even today I’m wasting a hell of a lot of money staying in this five-star hotel in Bombay. How much more can I expect from him? I know he doesn’t mind it but as a daughter, I think I have to repay him for all that he has done for me,” said Somy, sentimentally.
There was a faraway look in her eyes and I thought I had lost her, but she pulled herself her out of it. “You know, I’m going to tell my dad to sign Amir and Madhuri for his film. What a cute pair they make, don’t they?”
By now she was in high spirits and laughing gaily she continued, “You know more than me, my mom will be delighted when she reads this interview of mine.