I frankly don't watch TV shows that much.
— Soni Razdan
I am a very private person.
Like every mother, I also want Alia and Shaheen to be happy. Whatever they do, they should feel satisfied doing it. I'm not a paranoid mother who pushes them to settle down.
Alia was a very obedient child. The only thing she was fussy about was what dress she wore. I would have to give her choices, and she would pick her dress out knowing very well exactly what she wanted to wear.
I did not bring up my child to think that she was a star. If I had treated her any differently, it would have messed everything up. She was brought up normally, like other kids, in a normal house, and it was a normal, middle-class life.
I believe in living life organically, taking it as it comes.
When someone is humiliating and harassing a woman, he must be knowing that the victim is needy and left with no option but to tolerate such harassment to save the job.
Everyone is different, and each has to create his or her own path, irrespective of who their parents are.
Acting, according to me, gets better with time and age. The more experiences you have in life, the more you have seen, the better equipped you are to deal with complexity and bring out the depth in characters.
I don't think one ever stops struggling.
I'm an actress. I'm ready to work anytime.
People opposing dance bars claim that a lot of money is wasted in bars. I want to ask them why not target five star hotels, too, where a lot of money is spent?
I never needed anyone when I became an actress. I ran off to England on my own.
Later in life, I learnt that in order to deal with people, one has to be gentle and give them respect. That always works.
Alia needs a full support system that I'm happy to provide her.
As her mother, I am always there, but Alia knows what she wants both professionally and personally.
Our artistes should be allowed to go to Pakistan just as we welcome their artistes.
To be honest, nobody was running after me with roles, so there also came a time when I did neglect the acting side and was keen on directing and pursuing that. People got this impression, 'She's directing, not acting,' stuff like that.
I am not the kind of person who won't get married because of my career, because there was nothing great happening in my career anyway.
It is easy to say that if such harassment happens, walk out of your job. But people depend on that job. It is about their livelihood, a question of survival. So while we must encourage victims for coming up with their #MeToo stories, we should not judge women for not sharing their stories.
Alia and Shaheen have a smart father and have got good genes. But it's not fair that people expect them to do as well as their father.
You never really stop learning. You have to experiment and reinvent life to sustain your interest.
For a woman, there is a complete dearth of roles to do. Abroad, you really have good roles, and by good roles, I don't mean the film has to be women oriented. I wouldn't mind playing a well-written, small role.
In this business, you can't make any plans.
I was not nervous while making 'Nazar' because I was well prepared. I took three months to prepare. When I went on the sets, I knew what I was doing.
Between my two girls, Alia showed a natural flair for acting.
I don't like to talk about things till someone asks about them.
Two single, young souls can fall in love. What's the big deal? Rather, it's a good thing.
Alia doesn't need my guidance regarding the kind of films she should do. Rather, she is quite a sorted individual who follows a strong instinct. And this seems to have worked in her favour.
You come to a certain age in life and wonder, 'I am holding back for what?' Why not just say it?
I never stopped working when I got married and had kids. I did television and always tried to do what I could do.
Every company should have zero tolerance on sexual harassment so that victims feel secure while taking a stand.
Compared to Alia, it's little more difficult for Shaheen, as she has a famous father and a famous sibling, too. So, I always tell my daughters to not to pay much heed to these expectations and give more importance to their dreams. They should keep working hard and find their own talent.
It's tough for a child to deal with expectations that people have if they have a successful parent. A child often fails to cope with the same and constantly tries to find out possible ways to excel - just to live up to the name.
I've never had it easy. There have been fortunate coincidences and instances, but nothing has fallen into my lap. Whatever I've achieved has always been through sheer hard work.
In this country, if a woman wants to work, she has very little choice. After you cross the age suitable for a heroine, there is nothing in the middle; the next thing you do is you become a mother.
I had directed a short film called 'Girvhi' earlier, on child labour. It was a fictional story. At that time, I realised I could direct a film if given a chance.
You cannot control the spending habits of people. It is a free society, after all, and people should have right to spend their money as they wish.
I am as curious about my daughter's acting debut as the rest of the world. I think Alia has got the best possible debut under the biggest banner. But it's not going to be easy for her to go from the first to the second film smoothly.
