hello everyone so I was just talking to
my mother I got off a phone call with my
mother
who by the way I absolutely very very
dearly love and adore and respect very
much is putting it out there we had one
of our million mother-daughter Tiff’s
arguments or something super frivolous
the topic of our argument today was what
time I should reach the airport when I
I’m flying back to Mumbai she wanted me
to reach the airport two hours in
advance I have already done my web
check-in I don’t have any check-in
baggage so I said I can go 45 minutes in
advance and if I want to live off the
edge even half an hour in advance but
there was a lot of back-and-forth and
that was active now this step is an
example of one of the many fights we
have and all of them have one core
reason and that core reason is the
difference of opinion we have because of
a generation gap now a parents they have
a certain set of values and beliefs
which they probably formed early on when
they were forming their worldviews and
those are very different from the battle
values and beliefs that we have because
we formed them later at a different time
which is much more recent and in an
ideal world both the sides would make
amends and reach a mutual consensus
reach a mutual ground but hello welcome
to reality that’s not how it’s going to
work because it’s natural human tendency
to resist change so and our parents are
come on they’re 50-plus most of them so
it’s not possible it is possible it’s so
rather difficult for them to change the
world views they’ve held for so many
years overnight so two things about
change one that change is very very
important it is what helps us grow and
evolve and to change is poem
and it’s the only constant thing in fact
there’s nothing permanent in this world
except change this is not something I’m
saying on top of my head I am quoting
Heraclitus now there’s so many things
that we want to change whether it’s
about a school whether it’s about the
educational system our economy our
country our housing society there’s so
many things we want to change so I think
now is a good time to tell you another
important thing about change that I have
come to realize over these years change
does not happen on its own it always
requires a trigger it always requires at
one spark that makes that fire go wild
and that is why this is what I am going
to talk to you about in the next few
minutes that how you can be the change
you wish to see now I’m no expert I am
NOT going to give you theories and
principles I’m just going to give you my
story let me begin with the first time I
rescued an animal okay
this was when I was in grade seven or
eight my classmate and a very good
friend of mine we had been selected from
our school to go for a inter school
debate in another school and generally
we were pretty good at it so we went to
the other school but this particular
debate did not go as planned
we got eliminated in the very first
round now we had two choices
one we immediately come back to our own
school and tell everyone how we messed
up and a second option was we used the
time we had at hand because they were
supposed to be multiple rounds move
around eat a little bit I don’t know go
meet someone meet a friend and then come
back to school and tell them how we
messed up so we obviously chose the
latter
um we were roaming around ate at a
fast-food joint
played around and we were walking back
it was a nice day and we came across
this tiny little fur ball actually not a
fur ball because half its hair had
fallen out it was a tiny little kitten
that we saw it was super frill you could
see the skeleton
we played with it a little bit but
before that actually we looked around
that whether it has its mom around or
its sub siblings you know it’s family
but there was no one inside so we
assumed that one either it’s abandoned
or – it must have strayed away from its
family so we played around with it and
after playing around with so sometimes
we moved on and we look behind and this
kitten is following us and it was a
footpath sort of a place where we were
walking so there were a lot of step
downs and step ups this kitten was so
small okay so every time it stepped down
it would tumble when he would come back
up and I would try you know with all its
might it was it was super frail it would
probably die if it was not tended to
within a couple of days it was that
frail but still it was using all his
strength to follow us around come on you
can’t leave that behind so we picked up
the kitten put it in my bag took it to
my friend’s place to give it some milk
oh we went back to school when I came
back later that day I took the kid into
a battery doctor of God on drips did the
treatment did its vaccinations and then
the main fight came where we had to
plead and beg my friend’s mother to let
us keep the kitten in her house because
I had a dog at that time I still do have
it all so I couldn’t keep a kitten dog
cat not the best combination oh we had
to really request the mother to let us
keep the kitten in her house at least if
we found a good home boy the kitten this
was then now 10 years later that kitten
is a fat blob of a cat called Yoda who
has taken over my friend’s bedroom now
change does not always come in big
packages it comes in all shapes and
sizes what I did was not a huge rescue
mission but it did something it made me
feel something and at that time when I
felt it I knew for a fact that I have to
feel this feeling again I have to feel
it again I got curious so I started
learning more about it so I’ve always
been an animal lover I have grown up
with animals in fact my own
grandfather’s a veterinary doctor when
he was serving in the Indian Army
he’s retired and he practices privately
so I went up to him I asked him that you
know tell me about your abandoned cases
and not just dogs or cats even monkeys
donkeys horses mules I don’t know about
everything I spoke to him
I looked up local shelters even visited
a couple of them basically I spoke to a
lot of people and I learned a lot of
things what I learned about also was
cruelty towards animals now this is
something when I was in my school in my
own little bubble I didn’t think it’s
actually an issue but it was it is an
issue I learned how to intervene in a
situation when there is cruelty towards
animal I learned the plan of action what
is supposed to do when you see a
distressed animal I spoke about these
things I spoke about it to my friends
and classmates or at least the people
who would let me carry this conversation
beyond a couple of minutes because
people generally lose interest I hope
you’re not I also volunteered in a lot
of feeding programs
oh and you know these are ambulances
that patrol providing immediate first
states right I’ve done all of that
now I’m appoint to see all of this is to
tell you that a change was happening
while I was doing all this very
gradually or and fully unconsciously I
was transitioning from an animal lover
to an animal activist I had a long way
to go but this was my tipping point
picking up little Yoda from the street
it it developed an urge in me to not
turn a blind eye when I can do something
not turn a blind eye to things I’m not
ok with
not accept things because they are
standard basically I developed a najin
me to make my actions count anyway later
I took up acting full-time after I
graduated and I carried forward these
ideas and values and principles with me
I thought I’m an activist but it turns
out that I was doing exactly the
opposite of what I stand for I was not
making my actions count when I actually
took up
doing full-time I didn’t make my actions
count as an individual I didn’t make my
actions count as an actor okay so I was
I after college I went to UC Berkeley to
take up a couple of courses in marketing
and business and I came back and I dived
headfirst into general entertainment
which is as people popularly know it as
SAS bahu whether I related to that or
not that’s a very different thing but I
did it because I thought that that’s
stable right everyone watches saws bahu
it’s a stable source of income it’s a
stable visibility it’s not controversial
everyone will like it so I just started
doing that and let me make one thing
clear I have absolutely nothing against
the television industry the GC industry
in fact whatever little or non little
whether it was three years whatever time
I gave to it I learnt a lot from it and
I got a lot from it but I was not able
to get the roles that I wanted to do
anyway one day I got cast for the show
again for one of the main channels and
it was a main lead and I was like
shallow set now my next year till the
show runs I am stable financially
visibility everything but then after a
couple of days I receive a call okay
and the person calls me and tells me now
I’m gonna say this in Hindi because I
want to quote what he said he calls me
and he’s like Oh madam up now negative
lead curlew I was like why he’s like
madam aapke Look Now or the item Indian
named after a Chinese type like Theo
exactly all wrong up now but look at the
upper clamor type look majora the
positive lead kappa glamour neo Thibault
like- bun Jobbik dumb feedback okay and
it took me some time to digest this and
when it did sink in I realized that of
course I’m never going to get the kind
of roles I
one to do because one I am in a fear
that is not suited for me that I am not
suited for rather and I don’t think I’m
going to be able to do this because it’s
so typecasted where he told me out there
up Indian a laughter of Chinese like
they were like that’s racism to another
level anyway but fine around that time
Oh a youth centric show which later was
one of the very very popular show which
made me you know come out in the public
front in the limelight which made me
popular that show came about and I
outright rejected it why human tendency
to resist change I was just like no this
is youth segment I want to do GC it’s
stable its property I’m supposed to do
this and I kept rejecting it little did
I know that this was a change waiting
for me to happen and more than that show
needing me I needed that show but I was
resisting it like a fool anyway later I
with some hesitation I took the show up
and it opened a whole new world for me
it opened a whole new world of
opportunities and I started loving what
I do
I started relating to it and I think
people also loved what I did because
suddenly within a span of a few months I
became this again popular person among
the youth people my social media handles
shot up I came to be called an
influencer so okay I can’t get over this
word we will talk about it later
so these two instances when they happen
in my life I realized something that by
that by being conscious and aware of my
immediate wants and needs and the wants
and needs of the people around me I can
change I can bring about change not only
in myself but also in my immediate
environment but now these things well
that came to me I did not actively seek
them out so obviously my next step was
to figure out a way in which I can
actively do things
to seek the change that I have
envisioned what was that change my
vision is to use my influence I’m an
influencer remember the vision is to use
my influence to be able to change the
way artists are perceived in India and
when I’m seeing artists I specifically
mean female actors in mainstream cinema
I’m not talking about cinema and
television and in mainstream media I’m
not talking about art films or you know
Hollywood films I’m talking about Indian
mainstream media female actors now this
also this vision it stems from another
story in my life as I said I had come
back from Berkeley and when I came back
I started doing a show while doing that
show I also wanted to do like or get a
master’s degree in sociology so while I
was doing the show I was also studying
and preparing for the master’s degree
for two years and the word gets around
people got to know and I think so often
I got asked this one question again I
could actory but not how to it’s not a
high Q key and then I saw this active
articles like this meet the
overqualified actress now I’ve never
been to film school I have never taken
acting classes so I knew that’s not what
they’re talking about they’re not
what is it so I one question came in my
head why can’t an actor study like as an
actor we are required to portray
different rules to step into so many
different shoes sometimes I’m playing a
doctor sometimes I’m playing a lawyer
sometimes I’m playing a businesswoman
and you get a script yes but adding some
technical jargon if you have knowledge
about it it’s never a bad thing so if
you go by that knowledge having a good
education is actually a bonus right I
wanted to be considered as someone who
who will be taken seriously when I come
across and give you a business idea
because mind you I do have some great
business ideas I envision a change okay
and I will tell you what that change is
I hope that someday we see a day in
India when female actors in mainstream
media I looked at something beyond a
commodity who is supposed to slap makeup
on their six-inch pencil heels very nice
dress be an eye candy be a visual treat
obviou time pass watch when you are
eating food or you know getting sleep a
day when this whole stereotype actor
types ceases to exist a demon actors are
how do I put this
a demon actors are people are not
surprised the demon people are not
surprised when they meet an actor who
has a brain and vision of her own and is
not just learning things that someone
else has written in a script and
spilling them out this is what I have
envisioned now what am i doing to bring
this change about every single day I
strive to use the brand that I have been
able to thankfully manage to create to
reach out to a lot of people so I use
that I use my ability to reach out to so
many people to tell people to make them
aware of the amazing things other than
acting that my co actors are doing to
make them aware that this is a
stereotype that the perspective that
people hold is a stereotype and that
stereotype exists now a lot of people
will say that no it does not exist
that’s not true you’re generalizing it
may not exist consciously but I’m
telling you because I face it every
single day whenever I work it is an
unconscious assumption it is a prejudice
and I want to make people aware of that
and I hope that this awareness will
bring about the change because awareness
is always the first step towards change
so this is my this is what I want this
is what I have envisioned and this is
what I am trying to do to bring about
the change so you see the fourth big
change in my life when I rescued that
kitten that change it made me grow and
avoid
and find my passion which is helping
animals the second change that happened
in my life was the shift in my career
that I made that change helped me to
finally be able to relate to my job and
the third change where I want to change
the perspective is a change that’s in
process so you see right from my
childhood till now change has been
taking place it’s constant and that’s
social transformation and personal
transformation it goes hand in hand okay
one cannot happen without the other and
if you want to see a change you have to
do something about it I’m not telling
you something that you don’t already
know you all know these things I’m just
trying to put things in perspective and
I really sincerely hope that my story
and these learning experiences that I’m
sharing with you from my life may
inspire you someday to be the change you
want to see in your individual fields in
the next five years what is going to
differentiate you from others are the
choices you make now the choices you
make today and that choice my friends is
very simple either you do something or
you do nothing thank you [Applause]
my mother I got off a phone call with my
mother
who by the way I absolutely very very
dearly love and adore and respect very
much is putting it out there we had one
of our million mother-daughter Tiff’s
arguments or something super frivolous
the topic of our argument today was what
time I should reach the airport when I
I’m flying back to Mumbai she wanted me
to reach the airport two hours in
advance I have already done my web
check-in I don’t have any check-in
baggage so I said I can go 45 minutes in
advance and if I want to live off the
edge even half an hour in advance but
there was a lot of back-and-forth and
that was active now this step is an
example of one of the many fights we
have and all of them have one core
reason and that core reason is the
difference of opinion we have because of
a generation gap now a parents they have
a certain set of values and beliefs
which they probably formed early on when
they were forming their worldviews and
those are very different from the battle
values and beliefs that we have because
we formed them later at a different time
which is much more recent and in an
ideal world both the sides would make
amends and reach a mutual consensus
reach a mutual ground but hello welcome
to reality that’s not how it’s going to
work because it’s natural human tendency
to resist change so and our parents are
come on they’re 50-plus most of them so
it’s not possible it is possible it’s so
rather difficult for them to change the
world views they’ve held for so many
years overnight so two things about
change one that change is very very
important it is what helps us grow and
evolve and to change is poem
and it’s the only constant thing in fact
there’s nothing permanent in this world
except change this is not something I’m
saying on top of my head I am quoting
Heraclitus now there’s so many things
that we want to change whether it’s
about a school whether it’s about the
educational system our economy our
country our housing society there’s so
many things we want to change so I think
now is a good time to tell you another
important thing about change that I have
come to realize over these years change
does not happen on its own it always
requires a trigger it always requires at
one spark that makes that fire go wild
and that is why this is what I am going
to talk to you about in the next few
minutes that how you can be the change
you wish to see now I’m no expert I am
NOT going to give you theories and
principles I’m just going to give you my
story let me begin with the first time I
rescued an animal okay
this was when I was in grade seven or
eight my classmate and a very good
friend of mine we had been selected from
our school to go for a inter school
debate in another school and generally
we were pretty good at it so we went to
the other school but this particular
debate did not go as planned
we got eliminated in the very first
round now we had two choices
one we immediately come back to our own
school and tell everyone how we messed
up and a second option was we used the
time we had at hand because they were
supposed to be multiple rounds move
around eat a little bit I don’t know go
meet someone meet a friend and then come
back to school and tell them how we
messed up so we obviously chose the
latter
um we were roaming around ate at a
fast-food joint
played around and we were walking back
it was a nice day and we came across
this tiny little fur ball actually not a
fur ball because half its hair had
fallen out it was a tiny little kitten
that we saw it was super frill you could
see the skeleton
we played with it a little bit but
before that actually we looked around
that whether it has its mom around or
its sub siblings you know it’s family
but there was no one inside so we
assumed that one either it’s abandoned
or – it must have strayed away from its
family so we played around with it and
after playing around with so sometimes
we moved on and we look behind and this
kitten is following us and it was a
footpath sort of a place where we were
walking so there were a lot of step
downs and step ups this kitten was so
small okay so every time it stepped down
it would tumble when he would come back
up and I would try you know with all its
might it was it was super frail it would
probably die if it was not tended to
within a couple of days it was that
frail but still it was using all his
strength to follow us around come on you
can’t leave that behind so we picked up
the kitten put it in my bag took it to
my friend’s place to give it some milk
oh we went back to school when I came
back later that day I took the kid into
a battery doctor of God on drips did the
treatment did its vaccinations and then
the main fight came where we had to
plead and beg my friend’s mother to let
us keep the kitten in her house because
I had a dog at that time I still do have
it all so I couldn’t keep a kitten dog
cat not the best combination oh we had
to really request the mother to let us
keep the kitten in her house at least if
we found a good home boy the kitten this
was then now 10 years later that kitten
is a fat blob of a cat called Yoda who
has taken over my friend’s bedroom now
change does not always come in big
packages it comes in all shapes and
sizes what I did was not a huge rescue
mission but it did something it made me
feel something and at that time when I
felt it I knew for a fact that I have to
feel this feeling again I have to feel
it again I got curious so I started
learning more about it so I’ve always
been an animal lover I have grown up
with animals in fact my own
grandfather’s a veterinary doctor when
he was serving in the Indian Army
he’s retired and he practices privately
so I went up to him I asked him that you
know tell me about your abandoned cases
and not just dogs or cats even monkeys
donkeys horses mules I don’t know about
everything I spoke to him
I looked up local shelters even visited
a couple of them basically I spoke to a
lot of people and I learned a lot of
things what I learned about also was
cruelty towards animals now this is
something when I was in my school in my
own little bubble I didn’t think it’s
actually an issue but it was it is an
issue I learned how to intervene in a
situation when there is cruelty towards
animal I learned the plan of action what
is supposed to do when you see a
distressed animal I spoke about these
things I spoke about it to my friends
and classmates or at least the people
who would let me carry this conversation
beyond a couple of minutes because
people generally lose interest I hope
you’re not I also volunteered in a lot
of feeding programs
oh and you know these are ambulances
that patrol providing immediate first
states right I’ve done all of that
now I’m appoint to see all of this is to
tell you that a change was happening
while I was doing all this very
gradually or and fully unconsciously I
was transitioning from an animal lover
to an animal activist I had a long way
to go but this was my tipping point
picking up little Yoda from the street
it it developed an urge in me to not
turn a blind eye when I can do something
not turn a blind eye to things I’m not
ok with
not accept things because they are
standard basically I developed a najin
me to make my actions count anyway later
I took up acting full-time after I
graduated and I carried forward these
ideas and values and principles with me
I thought I’m an activist but it turns
out that I was doing exactly the
opposite of what I stand for I was not
making my actions count when I actually
took up
doing full-time I didn’t make my actions
count as an individual I didn’t make my
actions count as an actor okay so I was
I after college I went to UC Berkeley to
take up a couple of courses in marketing
and business and I came back and I dived
headfirst into general entertainment
which is as people popularly know it as
SAS bahu whether I related to that or
not that’s a very different thing but I
did it because I thought that that’s
stable right everyone watches saws bahu
it’s a stable source of income it’s a
stable visibility it’s not controversial
everyone will like it so I just started
doing that and let me make one thing
clear I have absolutely nothing against
the television industry the GC industry
in fact whatever little or non little
whether it was three years whatever time
I gave to it I learnt a lot from it and
I got a lot from it but I was not able
to get the roles that I wanted to do
anyway one day I got cast for the show
again for one of the main channels and
it was a main lead and I was like
shallow set now my next year till the
show runs I am stable financially
visibility everything but then after a
couple of days I receive a call okay
and the person calls me and tells me now
I’m gonna say this in Hindi because I
want to quote what he said he calls me
and he’s like Oh madam up now negative
lead curlew I was like why he’s like
madam aapke Look Now or the item Indian
named after a Chinese type like Theo
exactly all wrong up now but look at the
upper clamor type look majora the
positive lead kappa glamour neo Thibault
like- bun Jobbik dumb feedback okay and
it took me some time to digest this and
when it did sink in I realized that of
course I’m never going to get the kind
of roles I
one to do because one I am in a fear
that is not suited for me that I am not
suited for rather and I don’t think I’m
going to be able to do this because it’s
so typecasted where he told me out there
up Indian a laughter of Chinese like
they were like that’s racism to another
level anyway but fine around that time
Oh a youth centric show which later was
one of the very very popular show which
made me you know come out in the public
front in the limelight which made me
popular that show came about and I
outright rejected it why human tendency
to resist change I was just like no this
is youth segment I want to do GC it’s
stable its property I’m supposed to do
this and I kept rejecting it little did
I know that this was a change waiting
for me to happen and more than that show
needing me I needed that show but I was
resisting it like a fool anyway later I
with some hesitation I took the show up
and it opened a whole new world for me
it opened a whole new world of
opportunities and I started loving what
I do
I started relating to it and I think
people also loved what I did because
suddenly within a span of a few months I
became this again popular person among
the youth people my social media handles
shot up I came to be called an
influencer so okay I can’t get over this
word we will talk about it later
so these two instances when they happen
in my life I realized something that by
that by being conscious and aware of my
immediate wants and needs and the wants
and needs of the people around me I can
change I can bring about change not only
in myself but also in my immediate
environment but now these things well
that came to me I did not actively seek
them out so obviously my next step was
to figure out a way in which I can
actively do things
to seek the change that I have
envisioned what was that change my
vision is to use my influence I’m an
influencer remember the vision is to use
my influence to be able to change the
way artists are perceived in India and
when I’m seeing artists I specifically
mean female actors in mainstream cinema
I’m not talking about cinema and
television and in mainstream media I’m
not talking about art films or you know
Hollywood films I’m talking about Indian
mainstream media female actors now this
also this vision it stems from another
story in my life as I said I had come
back from Berkeley and when I came back
I started doing a show while doing that
show I also wanted to do like or get a
master’s degree in sociology so while I
was doing the show I was also studying
and preparing for the master’s degree
for two years and the word gets around
people got to know and I think so often
I got asked this one question again I
could actory but not how to it’s not a
high Q key and then I saw this active
articles like this meet the
overqualified actress now I’ve never
been to film school I have never taken
acting classes so I knew that’s not what
they’re talking about they’re not
what is it so I one question came in my
head why can’t an actor study like as an
actor we are required to portray
different rules to step into so many
different shoes sometimes I’m playing a
doctor sometimes I’m playing a lawyer
sometimes I’m playing a businesswoman
and you get a script yes but adding some
technical jargon if you have knowledge
about it it’s never a bad thing so if
you go by that knowledge having a good
education is actually a bonus right I
wanted to be considered as someone who
who will be taken seriously when I come
across and give you a business idea
because mind you I do have some great
business ideas I envision a change okay
and I will tell you what that change is
I hope that someday we see a day in
India when female actors in mainstream
media I looked at something beyond a
commodity who is supposed to slap makeup
on their six-inch pencil heels very nice
dress be an eye candy be a visual treat
obviou time pass watch when you are
eating food or you know getting sleep a
day when this whole stereotype actor
types ceases to exist a demon actors are
how do I put this
a demon actors are people are not
surprised the demon people are not
surprised when they meet an actor who
has a brain and vision of her own and is
not just learning things that someone
else has written in a script and
spilling them out this is what I have
envisioned now what am i doing to bring
this change about every single day I
strive to use the brand that I have been
able to thankfully manage to create to
reach out to a lot of people so I use
that I use my ability to reach out to so
many people to tell people to make them
aware of the amazing things other than
acting that my co actors are doing to
make them aware that this is a
stereotype that the perspective that
people hold is a stereotype and that
stereotype exists now a lot of people
will say that no it does not exist
that’s not true you’re generalizing it
may not exist consciously but I’m
telling you because I face it every
single day whenever I work it is an
unconscious assumption it is a prejudice
and I want to make people aware of that
and I hope that this awareness will
bring about the change because awareness
is always the first step towards change
so this is my this is what I want this
is what I have envisioned and this is
what I am trying to do to bring about
the change so you see the fourth big
change in my life when I rescued that
kitten that change it made me grow and
avoid
and find my passion which is helping
animals the second change that happened
in my life was the shift in my career
that I made that change helped me to
finally be able to relate to my job and
the third change where I want to change
the perspective is a change that’s in
process so you see right from my
childhood till now change has been
taking place it’s constant and that’s
social transformation and personal
transformation it goes hand in hand okay
one cannot happen without the other and
if you want to see a change you have to
do something about it I’m not telling
you something that you don’t already
know you all know these things I’m just
trying to put things in perspective and
I really sincerely hope that my story
and these learning experiences that I’m
sharing with you from my life may
inspire you someday to be the change you
want to see in your individual fields in
the next five years what is going to
differentiate you from others are the
choices you make now the choices you
make today and that choice my friends is
very simple either you do something or
you do nothing thank you [Applause]
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