Between Mahesh Bhatt's wife and Alia's mother, Soni Razdan struggles to be herself

Soni Razdan has always been trying -- to push herself as an actor, make her space in the industry and to carve an identity independent of being the wife of a famous filmmaker and mother of a superstar.

The actor made her debut with critically acclaimed "36 Chowringhee Lane" and went on to feature in films like "Mandi" and "Saaransh" in the later years.

In 1986, she got married to Mahesh Bhatt, and even though she continued to work, Razdan still struggles to be known more than just someone's wife or mother.

"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 Mahesh Bhatt's wife or Alia's mother. But I am also a person, who in her own right, has gone through quite a lot of odds," she says.

In an interview to PTI, the 62-year-old actor shares that every time she's on sets and working, she experiences "euphoria."
"But it's not like I'm setting out to endeavour to be anything. I'm just being me. This is who I am and I don't think why I shouldn't be what I am."
"People are lazy when they cast. It's natural to think of the most obvious fit to your character. I think they should start looking at me differently. I've been able to put myself in different roles completely opposite to what I'm in real life."
"It is unreal. It's not what you expect at this age. I feel blessed that I was able to do this."
"What is happening is that people are thinking of stories which are about characters, as opposed to typical boy meets girl template. This trend has happened because the audience wants a change. They are interested in watching the story of a rapper from a gully. Otherwise the film industry is notoriously lazy in telling different stories."