Early Life

I’ve lived in Navi Mumbai for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I wanted to be an actor, bold dreams, bright lights. But my dad, a police officer, had seen the darker corners of that world, especially for women. For him, it was a hard no. “The world isn’t kind,” he used to say. “People will use you.” I didn’t realise it then, but those words shaped me.

So, I became the tough one. The tomboy. All attitude, no vulnerability. I had plenty of friends in school, but no one really got in. Not fully.

Then came Delhi. I was 12, chosen to represent my school at India’s biggest theatre festival. It should’ve been a highlight but 2012 was also the year of the Nirbhaya case. Delhi felt tense, unsafe. And on my very first day, I got lost in a crowded marketplace. Just me, a scared kid, swallowed up by a city known for danger. I didn’t even know which area my hotel was in. Just the name. Which turned out to have six branches across the city.