And now here I am finally at peace with my past and present. I have been through the worst of crisis including two broken marriages, change of nationality, death threats …you name it. How do you look back on your journey so far?
But it is the midpoint of my career.And I am glad I got the Padma Shri now and not much later. I am working on some projects that I can’t speak about. In the coming months, you will be hearing more of me. It spurs me on to do better and better work. What does the Padma Shri mean to your career? We are a film-fixated nation, and thank God for that(laughs). I felt proud to be in the same room as them.ĭo you think Indians per se tend to give too much importance film actors and not so much to other artistes? The Indian government honours these artisans, painter,folk singers who constitute such an integral yet neglected part of our culture. We would think that artistes scholars and other achievers from such humble backgrounds would go unnoticed. They came from such humble backgrounds and they had achieved so much in their field. I was looking at some of the winners whom I had never heard of. I was thinking of how proud my father would have been to see me getting honoured by the Indian government.It made teary-eyed. Have you ever been in that spectacular hall in the Rashtrapati Bhavan where the Padma awards are given? Just to be in that epic room with all those achievers from all over the country from all walks of life, is such a humbling experience. So what did it feel like to receive the Padma from the President? But you know what? I feel the more I’m trolled by Pakistanis, the more I am on the right path.I must be doing something right for them to be so angry. You know, ever since I opted for an Indian citizenship, Pakistanis aren’t happy with it. If they didn’t like my being honoured by the Indian government, MY government, then too bad.
How do you think they reacted? There was a lot of nasty criticism. How has Pakistan reacted to your Padma Sri?