Sonnalli Seygall: 'Kartik Aaryan’s success gives me hope that even outsiders can make it big'

Sonnalli Seygall made her debut with a bunch of newcomers in

Pyaar Ka Punchnama

(PKP) — the same film that made Kartik Aaryan a household name. The actress was recently in Jaipur to promote her upcoming film,

Setters

, in which she plays a cop. Sonnalli said she is elated to see how famous Kartik has become and shared that Kartik’s success gives her hope. “I remember our audition days back in 2010 and I feel proud to see Kartik’s achievements. I know his parents and it’s visible on their faces how proud they are of Kartik. His success only gives me hope that it’s possible for outsiders to make a mark in the industry and if you are talented and hardworking, nobody can hold you back, not even nepotism. Bas thode time ki baat hai. Kisi ko zyada lagta hai, kisi ko kam,” she said.

Sonnalli Seygall at Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur (Shalini Maheshwari/BCCL)

‘Jaipur has been lucky for me’
Talking about Jaipur, Sonnalli said that the city has been lucky for her. “Every time I have come here to promote my films, they have been a hit. I came here to promote both PKP and PKP2. And I didn’t come here for my other films (Wedding Pullav and High Jack), which didn’t do well. So I have come here for Setters and hope that this becomes a hit,” she said. The actress is fond of Rajasthani food. “I visited Pushkar a few months ago for an event and made it a point to stay back in Jaipur to explore the city. I loved the city a lot for the food because I am a big foodie,” she said.

‘When I started off as an actor, a director had touched me inappropriately’
It has been more than a year since the #MeToo campaign took off in India. A number of women came out with their stories and called out their harassers. Sonnalli too has had a bad experience. She told us, “It happened initially when I was trying my luck in the industry. I had gone for a meeting where I was finalised for a film. When we were about to sign the papers, the director touched my thigh. I would have slapped that man had this incident happened to me today. But at that point, I didn’t have enough courage to take a stand. So I walked off and stopped taking his calls. I don’t remember his name. I don’t even know what happened to him or his film. Such things do happen at a lot of levels. People even asked why Tanushree Dutta took so many years to speak about what had happened to her (on the sets of Horn Ok Pleassss). Sometimes, you just can’t. It takes a lot of courage and strength to speak up.”

‘Tanushree has taken this industry by storm’
Sonnalli shared, “Tanushree has taken this industry by storm. It has to an extent made an impact. I have seen a difference when I go for meetings with directors. They treat us well and I have noticed that people are cautious in their interaction with actresses now. Power game bahut zyada hai humari industry mein. But I have seen a change in men’s behaviour towards women. I feel a lot safer now. So in a way, it (#MeToo) is a good start. But we have a long way to go to have more dialogue around gender-based violence.”

Having said that, the actress also said sometimes there are a lot of false accusations too. “We need to hold those who are guilty, create an environment where victims feel that they can come forward and people will believe them, and at the same time, there should be some measures in place that prevents people from being wrongly accused,” she said.


‘I was offered a film where I was asked to go under the knife’
On opting for a de-glam role in Setters, Sonnalli said, “One might think why I opted to do a de-glam role. It is not as simple as it looks like. After being part of two hits (PKP and PKP2), people might think that I would be getting leads. Sometimes, things work out, sometimes they don’t. There are multiple factors. In fact, recently, I was offered a film where I was asked to go under the knife. I was not comfortable, so I rejected the offer.”