Soha Ali Khan: 2 am is the perfect time to meet my midnight date, me

Introvert or extrovert?
I can be a different person at different moments. I may sound chatty and friendly but that could really be a reserved person trying hard not to appear to be an introvert.

A girl of two cities
Juggling cities has never been an issue, although, now, with

Inaaya

[her daughter], I ensure all the logistics are taken care of well ahead of the journey. Most of my ‘wonder years’ (from 6 to 16 years) have been spent in Delhi. I went to the British School in Delhi and fondly remember the long walks with my father and the lovely parks I went to as a child. It’s the open spaces that I miss the most in Mumbai.
Inaaya mostly spends time indoors because of lack of open spaces in Mumbai. We didn’t have a childhood like that. We used to go to parks and
gardens. There was no paparazzi
and fear of stampede. Fortunately, that era allowed us a free, unrestricted,
innocent childhood.

Taimur

& Inaaya – The cousins
Taimur and Inaaya look forward to their playtime. They are still getting to know each other. It will be exciting to see them living their childhood and growing up together. I hope the kids won’t be “papped” all through their growing years.

On her 2 am friend
It is important to keep the conversations with yourself on; I choose 2 am as the perfect time to meet my midnight date – me, of course. Around the devil’s hour, you are truest to yourself. It is a time when you can’t cheat.
Humour like dad’s
I identify my humour quotient with that of my father’s. He used to love British comedies. Also, when it comes to fitness, my father was a sportsman and I too was into sports as a child.

The law dream
My mother had asked me to pursue law, go to Harvard but I am not a person who sits and reflects on decisions. I believe there are good reasons for every decision made.

'never hurt a man's ego'
I am sorted when it comes to relationships. Moderation — even in expectations — seems to be the key here. We have been a disciplined family and this is what really helped me in staying focused while penning down my thoughts (for her book).
My mother always told me never offend a man’s ego and never hurt a woman’s emotions – an advice I will not forget to pass on to my daughter.

Saif

, amma,

Kunal

Bhai has been one of the key forces in my life. He is a good critic and is not the kind of a person who would shy away from telling you how he feels about your work. In fact, I am surrounded by in-house critics. While working on my book, Kunal wanted an audio version. Kunal was closest in terms of proximity during my relationship with the book. He wanted me to read out the chapters to him aloud and I used to look forward to his reactions. Bhai wanted a soft copy and my mum (Sharmila Tagore), being from not-so-tech-savvy generation sought a hard copy. It helped her make notes on the sides of pages with a pencil.

I am sorted when it comes to relationships. Moderation even in expectations seems to be the key here. We have been a disciplined family and this is what really helped me in staying focused...