MUMBAI: Playing a doctor on screen at such a young age is what makes Alma Hussein's journey in Dhadkan Zindaggi Kii special. The actor plays Dr Sia Advani in this Nilanjana Purkayasstha and Herumb Khot production under Invictus T Mediaworks along with Studio Next.
“I feel honoured and grateful that Nilanjana ma’am and Herumb Sir gave me this opportunity. The amount of knowledge I’m gaining, while experiencing the emotions Sia goes through as a doctor is unique and wonderful,” she says.
The actor has been flooded with compliments. “Audience loves Sia 2.0, basically her out-going version. They appreciate the emotional scenes, the ones where I am drunk and when I feel absolutely overwhelmed. Many are able to relate to Sia,” she adds.
Happy with the response around the show and her character, Alma takes this opportunity to also highlight a pressing social issue in times of social media— the fact that girls often are body shamed and age shamed. Recently, Bigg Boss 15 winner Tejasswi Prakash was criticised for addressing Shamita Shetty as “aunty” on the show.
“I’ve been through it so I know how it feels when a person's body or age shames you. I’ve always been trolled for the way I look. I remember in 2019, when I was 15 and weighed 89kgs, I was bullied at school and by many other people. I remember not going to school because I felt insecured and scared. I was told that I am ugly and fat, that’s when it hit me hard. I lost myself somewhere in between… Looking back, I regret believing in those harsh things I was told. I started to get anxious and often felt alone. I used to avoid meeting people till one day when I decided to deal with it. I lost 25kgs in four months and understood that my weight never defined me. Thanks to them I only got fitter,” she explains.
Highlighting that we are living in a world where everyone wants to have the perfect body, Alma shares that by taking part in this rat race we often end up losing our uniqueness and sanity. “Girls are expected to have an hourglass figure, perfect waist, perfect hip, hair, eyes etc. We have to understand that everybody is perfect in their own way, that it’s okay to have flaws. I think what we are lacking these days and must work on is our kindness,” she shares.
Talking about how she was trolled online, Alma reveals that being an influencer she revealed her age in one of the videos and got over 15,000 hate comments.
“Reading these comments I felt disheartened, not for me but for those people. I felt bad that I’m living in a world where young girls get bullied and called names. It just breaks my heart. I don’t know why it is so hard for people to believe that I’m just 18, I don’t understand why am I even getting trolled for this? Why do I get such horrible DMs? Why do people catcall me? I never understood and I don’t even want to. I also don’t want to get affected by all these and try my best to maintain my peace,” she says.
Agreeing that youth is the hope of our future, Alma feels they need to be nurtured and motivated. “We need to learn so much, do so much and need everyone’s love and support. Healthy criticism is welcome but not trolls. Let’s be loving and kind to each other. I hope all this negativity doesn’t affect our future much and this world becomes a better place for all,” she ends on a note of hope.
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