Adah Sharma on The Kerala Story, Backlash, Threats & Handling Rejection | Shekhar Natarajan | Tomorrow Today

Tomorrow, Today

In this episode of Tomorrow Today, host Shekhar Natarajan engages in a deep, personal conversation with actress Adah Sharma. The discussion

Key takeaways

• Adah Sharma discusses the intense public scrutiny and personal threats following the release of The Kerala Story.
• The guest reflects on using humor as a primary self-defense mechanism to process professional rejection and childhood trauma.

Main topics

• Adah Sharma's acting career
• Handling public controversy

Notable quotes

AI is like fire and it can either like burn the whole forest down or it can be used to cook food.

Conclusion

The episode provides a moving look at how personal history and resilie

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) So I learnt acting at quite a young age because I used to do it in real life. Speaker 1 (0:08) It's AI with a conscience. And the second one is building a community of what a good human looks like. Speaker 2 (0:20) So Kerala's story I think enters the room before I enter the room now. And yeah, you can't not know what it is. Speaker 1 (0:32) Every company wanted to compete with Amazon. You cannot be like... The David Goliath story only works in stories. Speaker 2 (0:44) I think AI is like fire and it can either like burn the whole forest down or it can be used to cook food. Speaker 1 (1:18) Welcome to yet another episode of Tomorrow Today with Shekhar Natarajan. Today it's my incredible pleasure to welcome Ada Sharma. She is not only a celebrity, but a great human being. And a very intriguing person, by the way. Like, you know, I've been researching about her. During the course of the conversation, you're going to know why. Speaker 2 (1:38) Oh my, is the pressure on? Speaker 1 (1:43) But a wonderful human being. And I'm also, you know, she also has a sister here, by the way. Like, if you haven't seen the sister, a sister does exist. A mother does exist. For all of you. to know. Ada, welcome to the show. Speaker 2 (1:59) Thank you so much. Thank you for telling people that I have a family that exists. You know, like being in front of the camera, even my mom is not and then there was some speculation about her existing or not and people were like, maybe she doesn't exist. Speaker 1 (2:12) No, Speaker 2 (2:12) I have. Speaker 1 (2:13) You've got a family. Few Speaker 2 (2:15) of them who exist. Speaker 1 (2:18) Good. So, let's actually go back to the origin days of your family, right? Like, you know, it's a very interesting background that you have. I was reading about your father, mother and the makeup of the family and other things. I wanted to understand a little bit about them because most of the times, you know, the apple never falls far from the tree and like some of the values and virtues that you actually possess come through their encoding, right? So I want to understand. who you are as a person, the formative days, where did you live, what happened to you? Oh my, Speaker 2 (2:52) this feels like a therapy session. Podcasts actually feel like a therapy session. Speaker 1 (2:57) No, seriously, I had like... No, in a Speaker 2 (2:59) good, not in a bad way, in a good way only. Podcasts nowadays are the new therapy session that you put out for everyone, for everyone to watch, right? Speaker 1 (3:07) No, no, but I think this is unlike any other podcast. So I'll give you the reason why we do this podcast. So in 2020, my son was born. And my son looks exactly like my father. Okay. And so I'm a late bloomer. And this fellow was born. And when I held him, the only thing I could feel was my father's soul in my son. And my father used to deliver telegrams in Hyderabad. And basically my mother was not as educated. She used to work for Tech and Chronicle. Like when she started, she used to wrap like newspapers to be delivered next day morning. That's where we started. And I lived in slums in India, the second biggest one. And so, but all the good karma they had done in their life despite being very poor and being very challenged. you know, came as a blessing to me. And my thinking was, can I capture the essence and the soul of my parents and everyone who helped me, which are numerous of those people in my life. And if I could like put them in technology and amplify goodness, that would be the greatest gift I would give for my son. And so I started that journey. And as part of the journey, you know, we are building a capability and the capability is like broken into two halves. It's AI with a conscience. And the second one is building a community of what a good human looks like. And so bringing interesting people, understanding what makes them up, who they are. Because all we see is the glamour and the glitter and everything that is very external. But we don't understand how they evolve as people. So that's essentially what we try to capture as part of the show. Speaker 2 (4:59) How lovely. Since it's divided into two parts, I think I'll... be put into the AI part. A lot of people think I'm AI also. So I think the AI with a conscience is a nice thing. I Speaker 1 (5:10) like it. Speaker 2 (5:11) At least it's just AI. A lot of my videos people see and they say AI. Speaker 1 (5:14) Some dance Speaker 2 (5:15) video we put recently and I really worked hard and people were like, AI, you can't tell now. So if you look like you've done a little hard work, sometimes it gets passed off as AI. But I like this AI with a conscience is so nice. Speaker 1 (5:25) Yes, yes, yes. Speaker 2 (5:26) And scary also. It is Speaker 1 (5:28) nice. So the world without it is scary. So tell me a little bit about your background, upbringing. Everything Speaker 2 (5:36) you want to know. So Speaker 1 (5:37) father is Merchant Navy and Tamil Brahmin. And mother is Malayali, half Malayali and half. Speaker 2 (5:45) Yeah, she's a little Italian and half Malayali. But because my mom's mom is from Kerala. So I don't know, we just felt closer to Kerala roots since I met that whole side of her family. Speaker 2 (5:59) And my granddad is, he was, I consider myself like... Half Speaker 1 (6:04) Italian. Speaker 2 (6:05) No, half of him because he could pick languages up like that. Like he spoke Marathi fluently, he spoke Tamil fluently, he spoke Malayalam fluently and without anyone having the accent of the other. So when he spoke Marathi, you'd think it's a Maharashtrian speaking because he had light eyes and he was really fair. So you'd think he's a Maharashtrian. When he spoke Malayalam, his accent was impeccable. So I was very inspired by him from when I was a kid. And I always thought if you speak one accent, he told me never let the other accent flow into this one. Speaker 1 (6:38) Super. So and you guys like you were born in Mumbai. No, I was born. Speaker 2 (6:42) I actually didn't move my house since birth. I've been staying in the same house. I just moved like two, three years back. But till then I was staying in the same house. It got renovated and we were in the same place. Where Speaker 1 (6:52) was this? In Pali? Pali. And growing up, what was your childhood like? Speaker 2 (6:57) Pretty much like any other. But I think I realized very young that whenever anyone is a little different or not very doing mediocre things, people don't really accept you. And then when I was a kid, I thought I was for a while without too many friends, human friends. What Speaker 1 (7:17) did you have then? Robotics? Speaker 2 (7:18) Animal Speaker 1 (7:19) friends. Speaker 2 (7:21) Animal friends, trees, plants, nature, friends. But kids are like adults only and if someone is a little different. So I decided to pretend and be mediocre then for everybody so that I can make a lot of friends then. So I learnt acting at... quite a young age because I used to do it in real life. And then I realized, oh, so if you are like everybody else, then everyone really likes you. It's very nice and convenient. And then when I became an actor also, I did it for a while. And then I was like, I'll get back to myself. So, yeah, so then I don't know. It's just exhausting. I think auditioning at all times for life, for real people in the world. Speaker 1 (8:01) And Speaker 2 (8:01) when you stop auditioning in real life, it's so peaceful. And when you just do what you want to do. Other than when it's a character, then I think you should commit. Not that. I'm talking about in real life as a person. So yeah, my childhood was pretty much exactly how adulthood is. I don't see any change. I do the same things I used to do then. Actually, no change. Like, really. Speaker 1 (8:22) Very interesting. So you were acting from age 3? Speaker 2 (8:25) No, not from age 3. I think from when I was like 4th standard. Till then, I didn't. I was like 1st in class and 1st in sports and 1st in... competitions and first in everything. And then I realized, but people don't like me when I'm first in everything. So should I just be first in everything or just be like third and then everyone likes you a lot. So if you just mess up a paper a little and don't be perfect, then you have more friends. So I did that. I did that for a bit. I was a very good student then, but then I used to be like third and not first. Just for convenience. Speaker 1 (9:02) Very funny. So, and then your father was in Merchant Navy. So, was he around you guys all the time or like? Speaker 2 (9:09) No, he used to do like eight months, six months. How Speaker 1 (9:12) often do you used to see him? Speaker 2 (9:14) Like once in, I mean, not once in six months. He used to be there for six months and then go for a year. He was around though. It's not that he was never around. Speaker 1 (9:22) And like, so how, like growing up, like what attributes do you attribute to your father? Your mother, your grandparents. I Speaker 2 (9:30) think we are more like my mom because we've hung out more with her. But yeah, like my dad, I don't know if I do attributes like him. Maybe being stubborn, I guess. Like a Speaker 1 (9:43) little, Speaker 2 (9:43) you know, yeah, stoneheaded a little bit. I think that's from him, maybe. He was also a very self-righteous person and he always, not that my mom isn't, but he's someone who said, you know, like... He was not there when Kerala Street Ate released. Speaker 1 (9:57) And Speaker 2 (9:58) I always thought that that's something he would have... Speaker 1 (10:00) Hated. Speaker 2 (10:00) No, loved. Because he was somebody who was like, if you find someone who cannot speak for themselves and if you can give somebody a voice, you should. And take a stand. And it's okay if people hate you for it. So you took a stand for somebody else. So I just thought that that's something he would have been like, wow, you had the guts to do. He would be very happy with that. So... Yeah, he was that kind of person that if you've not done anything wrong, you don't need to be scared. That was his thing always. Speaker 1 (10:28) Sometimes when you do that, like, you know, you get lonely too. Speaker 2 (10:31) I don't think so, no. Speaker 1 (10:32) Not anymore? Speaker 2 (10:33) No, no, no, not that. I feel that can never go wrong if you're doing the right thing. Now by the right thing, I don't mean like professionally winning at everything is not the right thing. Not that. I mean the right thing in life, even when no one's looking if you do the right thing, I don't think it can go wrong ever. Like I think that has a 100 % success rate. With me, it's tried and tested. Speaker 1 (10:52) Yes. Speaker 2 (10:53) Totally. So that I, like, even when no one is looking, even if nobody gets to know, even if no one, when no one is looking, or they are, or they might never get to know, you still stick to doing the right thing. Speaker 1 (11:05) Then, like, so now, go back to A3. So you started, like, you learned dancing. Yeah. What else did you do? I Speaker 2 (11:14) was very hyperactive. How were you auditioning Speaker 1 (11:15) for the 17-year-old kid who actually has to, like, jump into, like, cinema? Speaker 2 (11:20) Like auditioning for movies or ads like that? Speaker 1 (11:23) You learned dancing, then what happened to you? Oh, Speaker 2 (11:25) I did, but no one's given me dance, dance in a movie yet. Even the Telugu movies I've done, the ones that you really know me for Speaker 1 (11:32) are Speaker 2 (11:33) Heart Attack, where there was no dance. There were six songs and no dance. And Khranam, which there was no song and dance. So those are the two movies that people know me in Telugu. And even in Hindi, I don't think I've done anything where dance is remembered. Though I've graduated in dance, that's why I got into movies. But someday, I'm sure. Speaker 1 (11:52) So tell me, like, so three years you started dancing. What type of dance form did you learn? I Speaker 2 (11:57) learned jazz ballet, gymnastics and Kathak separately. Speaker 1 (12:01) Okay. And then where did you go to school? What did you do? I Speaker 2 (12:04) went to school at Auxilium Convent. It was a convent school. Speaker 2 (12:09) Yeah, as every convent school, we were good girls. It was an all-girls school that we went to. Speaker 1 (12:15) I Speaker 2 (12:15) didn't know how to talk to boys till we were in... Though our only interactions was like building friends. At least I had like those. But I didn't know how to have like an adult conversation with guys till maybe like 9th or 10th standard. And after that, I didn't go to college. So then it didn't continue. And then I did movies. So I didn't know how to have an adult conversation with... guys anywhere because in an all girls school they told us if you talk to boys you'll get pregnant not that we fully believed them they really told us that we did fully believe but there was still a Speaker 1 (12:46) skepticism a little bit yeah so maybe Speaker 2 (12:50) talk but talk with little distance so yeah yeah that was school for us Speaker 1 (12:56) And so what things do you remember growing up? I remember Speaker 2 (13:00) every day of my life actually from when I was around three and a half. Speaker 1 (13:03) That's like a good memory. Speaker 2 (13:05) It's not a very good thing. So I pretty much just problems under the carpet and keep them there. I'm that kind of person. So if there's any like traumatic thing or something in my life, I just sit on the carpet and pretend it didn't happen. But I remember everything from when I was like three and a half. I think I remember everything Speaker 1 (13:21) vividly. Why do you do that? Speaker 2 (13:23) I don't know how to forget things. Like how does one, it's like that film reel, if you can just cut chunks of it and, so I cut chunks of the ones I don't want and slide them under the carpet, but they still are all there. It's quite a mess, yeah. It is quite a mess, but now that's how it Speaker 1 (13:39) is. So what do you remember, the good ones and the bad ones? Like is there anything that you, like? Speaker 2 (13:44) I remember everything. So what you are, if you are like. Speaker 1 (13:47) The most traumatic thing and the most happiest thing. The Speaker 2 (13:49) traumatic thing, I don't even know if we can publicly discuss trauma. But happiest things I remember all, like the trauma ones also. But like I said in childhood, whatever I did, I still do now. I used to still play in the mud. I used to still talk to birds. I still talk to birds. So there's nothing that I used to do that I can't do now. A lot of times they say, if you become an actor, you can't do this and can't do that. There's nothing like that for me that I can't do. We still do everything. Everything. There is nothing. I'd never have understood only that, that I can't do something. I do everything Speaker 1 (14:20) I used to before. Speaker 2 (14:22) Just now, people treat me a little more importantly. And I continue doing the same things. But now I have someone who straightens my hair and who's like, okay, gives me ironed clothes and that helps. But sometimes, yeah, I'm still, I ironed it. I ironed it myself, yes. I know she's looking at me. I like wearing crumpled clothes. Speaker 1 (14:41) Not Speaker 2 (14:42) like, I'm just a little lazy with ironing clothes. And I feel like those... Crumples add some character to Speaker 1 (14:48) it. I'm just lazy about it. I'm not sure. But Speaker 2 (14:51) now, when I come to a podcast, I wear ironed clothes and I have ironed hair. Other than that, nothing's changed. I think humor is also a self-defense mechanism, though, which I use. Speaker 1 (15:07) So how do you deal with trauma, then? Speaker 2 (15:09) Humor. Speaker 1 (15:10) I Speaker 2 (15:10) think it's a self-defense thing that I use everywhere. Speaker 1 (15:14) So do you feel lonely? No. You don't? Speaker 2 (15:17) I've rarely experienced the feeling of loneliness. Speaker 1 (15:21) Yeah, she's Speaker 2 (15:21) laughing. No, I really enjoy my company. I think I'm a very awesome person to hang out with and I really Speaker 1 (15:30) have fun hanging out with myself. Speaker 2 (15:33) And I'm very happy when I'm all alone with myself. There's so much stuff. Speaker 2 (15:38) I feel there's places I can go and people I can meet in my imagination, which is so vast and so beautiful. And it's like nobody has, there's no policing. In life, everything has policing, you know, don't do this and don't think that. But my imagination, nobody can police and I can do what I want. So I never get lonely. Anything I want to, no, just imagine your imagination is just about anything. So I'm never lonely. Never. I've not experienced. That feeling. Speaker 1 (16:08) Other than Speaker 2 (16:09) in childhood, like I told you. Speaker 1 (16:11) But Speaker 2 (16:12) when I didn't have friends. But then I made friends. So Speaker 1 (16:15) it was fine. It was overrated. Speaker 2 (16:17) Crowd of people. Speaker 1 (16:18) I Speaker 2 (16:19) think there's always times where I enjoy that. Okay, being alone and being lonely is different. So I've learned how to cut it off and experience solitude to myself. So yeah, I enjoy that. I think life is just... I enjoy it. Like I said, I like my company. Speaker 1 (16:32) Very good. So like growing up, like did you have animals around you? Like was there like a special coping mechanism for you? Speaker 2 (16:40) No, I don't want to blame that on anything. I just like the company of animals and there are always animals around me. I'll find animals somewhere. Speaker 1 (16:47) What kind of animals? Speaker 2 (16:48) Anyone will do. Like I don't discriminate between Speaker 1 (16:51) reptilians. Yeah, but Speaker 2 (16:53) now it's difficult if I'm over here in your studio to find a lizard might be easier than finding an alligator. So I'm sure if you leave me here for the next like 15 minutes or something, I'll find something. Now there's just one leopard, this thing over there. Speaker 1 (17:07) Like Speaker 2 (17:07) a gold leopard. But I'm sure I'll find a living, breathing something here. Some insect, a moth. Speaker 1 (17:13) There's so many of them here, living and breathing. The Speaker 2 (17:16) humans, I'm sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Them included. No, no. I do not like also. Y'all are all very nice. No, I think, yeah, so. That's just something. Again, I think that's what you learn from family also. I've seen my mom like that. Speaker 1 (17:31) I've Speaker 2 (17:31) seen her getting like an injured big hawk to our house once. And she was just holding it wrapped in a thin mall cloth so as not to injure it. And this huge hawk, I remember when we were really small and we just looked. And, you know, they can turn their heads almost 360. So she got a hawk to our house and, you know, we looked at it and... The hawk could turn his neck and probably take off her arm if he wanted to. But I think when you look at your mom being cool with them, you learn. Speaker 1 (18:02) When your mom, like, tell me more about your mom. Like, she does yoga and she does... She does, yes. And she Speaker 2 (18:08) likes animals also. Speaker 1 (18:09) What kind of animals? Like, all kinds? All, Speaker 2 (18:11) all. Hers is also non-discriminatory. Insects, reptiles, all Speaker 1 (18:15) of them. Speaker 2 (18:16) The worm Speaker 1 (18:17) kingdom. Speaker 1 (18:20) No, Speaker 2 (18:20) actually Worm Kingdom, she's making some compost thing at home and you really need a lot of... Speaker 1 (18:25) Worms for that. Yeah, Speaker 2 (18:26) to do their job and make your compost. Speaker 1 (18:29) So I do this ritual when I was like growing up. We were told to actually like release a lot of like live fish back into running water. Speaker 2 (18:41) Oh. Speaker 1 (18:42) As in like, you know, like you go get fish from the market. Speaker 2 (18:45) You buy the ones in captivity and you leave them out. Leave them Speaker 1 (18:48) in the running water. Speaker 2 (18:49) But where will we find running water? Everywhere. Speaker 1 (18:51) Wherever there's a river. Speaker 2 (18:52) Oh, wow. Okay. Speaker 1 (18:53) Yeah. So there's a lot of places where there's flowing water. You just release it. That way you're giving freedom to something in Speaker 2 (19:00) life. Speaker 1 (19:01) Anyway, so, yeah. I grew up with the animals too. Like, you know, like I had always, like we were like, I literally, we grew up in like slum, like a single room, eight people, where the bathroom was inside the house. And the washroom was outside. And then, like, you know, all eight of us have to, like, shower at the same time, get out at the same time. Everything. Like, we've done all of that. And then, in all of that, there used to be a puppy, like, from, like, the streets that we used to go. And Speaker 2 (19:30) then you realize oneness, I think, with everybody. And then... Yeah. Speaker 1 (19:33) The loneliness never, like, occurred to us. Because, like, though we had, like, our own share of sorrow and grief and... like you know sometimes not resentment but like you have your anxieties and paranoia about like you know what you have to but we never felt that because it felt happy that place felt happy you know how lovely yeah like you know you like because we just used to laugh all the time you Speaker 1 (20:03) Whenever we could go out and walk together, we would walk for 45 minutes and have a dinner and come back and watch a movie. My father used to take us every quarter. Some Amitabh Bachchan movie used to come out. Speaker 2 (20:17) We all Speaker 1 (20:18) used to go together for the night show. So we'll go eat and then we'll go for the night show. We'll all walk, by the way, all the eight of us. And then we'll watch the movie and then we'll come back. And I never used to like... I used to sleep through the movie too, sometimes. Speaker 2 (20:31) But still, with everyone around. For Speaker 1 (20:35) the longest time, I thought my grandmother is my mother. Speaker 2 (20:38) Oh, Speaker 1 (20:38) because? Because I used to call her Radha Amma and I used to call my mother Kalavati. Speaker 2 (20:43) Oh, by name. Speaker 1 (20:44) By name. Speaker 1 (20:46) Wow. Then, like, they had me fill up the application. Like, you know, something came about for registering something. And I started, like, they had, like, for father's name, mother's name. I started writing my mother's name as Radha Ma. My mother said, no, no, no, no. Like, it's me. That's grandmother. How old were you when you realized? I was, I think, seven years. So, and I, so even in that, like, space, right? Like, I used to cuddle with my grandmother, wake up. I used to only see her face when I wake up. I like and I used to get like very angry if she's not in front of me Speaker 2 (21:18) because Speaker 1 (21:20) I want like for me she was the first deity like she was my god Speaker 2 (21:23) right Speaker 1 (21:24) I wake up literally I used to wake up like this and say like I want to see your face Speaker 2 (21:28) no one Speaker 1 (21:29) no one come in front of me oh Speaker 2 (21:31) my wow yeah Speaker 1 (21:33) so that that used to be your life can be Speaker 2 (21:35) made into a movie Speaker 1 (21:36) yeah like it's funny it's great it's actually like A lot of interesting times. We used to play. Like, you know, because it's a slum. Like, you know, we used to go collect all kinds of like junk metal and everything. I used to make Ganesha out of junk metal. Oh, Speaker 2 (21:52) wow. Yeah, Speaker 1 (21:53) 11 years old. I made one. And a guy... Like Speaker 2 (21:56) scraps put together and made. Speaker 1 (21:58) Because like, you see the kids like there like have the sort of the... Speaker 1 (22:05) sort of a misnomer and also there's a misconstruction sort of that you are going to go take money from people for Ganesha Pandal and you're going to pocket it. So like all the houses there would not give like you know kids show up and say we're going to put Ganesha like they would say like get the hell out. Like, why would we give like 10 rupees to put Ganesha? Like, the other kid just came and like, you know, took 10 rupees or 20 rupees. So then we said, you know what, like, you know, if they don't give anything, no problem. Like, we'll figure out how Ganesha should be. You Speaker 2 (22:36) have pictures Speaker 1 (22:36) of what you made now? Yeah, I do. Speaker 2 (22:38) You do have pictures. Speaker 1 (22:39) Yeah, I'll send it Speaker 2 (22:40) to you. Speaker 1 (22:40) And then we put it together. And then there was a professor who was walking by from Usmanian University who belongs to the same caste as I. So I come from a Daliar family. And so he looked at it and said like, you know, this kid could be an engineer. And all my mother had to hear was that. Speaker 2 (23:01) And Speaker 1 (23:02) she said, you are an engineer now. Speaker 2 (23:05) Were you an engineer? I was an engineer. Speaker 1 (23:07) I was a mechanical engineer. So I became a mechanical engineer. And I had fascination for machines anyway. Speaker 1 (23:13) Anyway, so coming to your life, your life is more interesting than mine. No, I Speaker 2 (23:18) think you have a more interesting story. But for each one, I think listening to another one's story Speaker 1 (23:25) is interesting. Speaker 2 (23:25) Yeah, because we've lived ours, no? So I was like, yeah, okay. Speaker 1 (23:29) So the transition from being a kid who went to school and then being... auditioned for like a movie how did that all happen for you like was there and did you have to train for like getting into a movie or was it like subliminal or it just happened by luck I Speaker 2 (23:45) think it definitely helps to have some sort of formal training just to face a camera also because then you're not going to be conscious of like there's a camera on me you know I think the more relaxed you can be as an actor just relaxed in yourself then you can be different characters So I think some sort of level of being relaxed with yourself and being in front of a camera is sort of necessary. Also, if you've probably done theatre or some sort of form of dance, a classical dance before, which has a rigorous amount of discipline or some sort of training focus that has been put into it, it definitely helps. And Speaker 1 (24:22) you had all of it? I Speaker 2 (24:23) had the dance part of it. I had done theatre and all