Quotes from Soni Razdan

Whenever you go to Kashmir, you find people who are very gentle and soft-spoken.

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.

As her mother, I am always there, but Alia knows what she wants both professionally and personally.

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?

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.

Between my two girls, Alia showed a natural flair for acting.

It is always wonderful to have a theatrical release; lot of filmmakers desire that.

I have always been known as Mahesh Bhatt's wife, and I would tell people, 'Hello! I'm here!' This has always been a struggle. I would like to be known for who I am. I'm very happy to be known as his wife or Alia's mother. But I am also a person who, in her own right, has gone through quite a lot of odds.

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.

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.

I probably marketed myself all wrong. I had exotic looks; I should have done those glamorous roles that exuded 'oomph.' But in my head, I was always an actress first.

There is nothing wrong in playing parts in a good film.

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.

You come to a certain age in life and wonder, 'I am holding back for what?' Why not just say it?

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.

I don't like to talk about things till someone asks about them.

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.

My acting, writing, performance - keep me on my toes.

It makes the city unique and hold a charm. In old Kolkata, there are some beautiful old buildings... some of them are well-maintained; somewhere reflects what the city has gone through in the past.

I am the mother, and the emotional chord with my children is naturally strong. So there are times when I might get sleepless nights because I am worried.

I am one of those people who cannot sit idle at home; I would get depressed. I have a constant hunger to create and to learn.

I always set small goals and work towards them to achieve them.