Hard to survive in showbiz if you are honest: Raveena Tandon

Actor goes candid about life choices, regrets and social responsibility towards the younger generation

National Award-winning actor Raveena Tandon revealed she faced many difficulties in her professional life for speaking the truth and that it is hard to survive in the entertainment industry if a person is transparent and honest.

Apart from her craft, Raveena is known for her outspoken nature. Asked if she has had to pay a price for it, she said, "Yes, I think at times it is challenging and hard to survive in the entertainment industry if you are honest. I faced a lot of trouble for that, where I have been thrown out of films. I have been called a liar and I have been treated badly."

However, no matter how unfair life was to her, the Dilwale actor still stuck to always telling the truth.

“I stuck to being honest and treated people with respect – something that I have learnt from my upbringing. All I knew is that time will unveil the reality. Today, I live with a clear heart and sleep in the night with a clear conscience. So I have no regrets."



The actor, who will soon be seen in Maatr, believes that all women have a loving and caring nature that the world celebrates, but forget about the inner strength that they possess. According to her, perhaps that is why the outer world thinks women are weaker – which is untrue.

Since childhood, Raveena has been caring for wounded crows, stray dogs and cats. Sharing one such story, she said that once she put a kitten inside a fish tank assuming the kitten will catch the fish and eat them. "Oh God! I was probably three years old then. My mom shared that story, I cannot recall, obviously," she quipped.

"I knew that cats eat fish and fish live in the water tank that I saw in our house. Now, as a three-year-old kid, how would I know that like those fish, a cat does not swim? I put the kitten inside the tank and messed up everything. Quickly my mom came and rescued the kitten from the fish tank. I was really small to understand things."

Considering the fact that Maatr, set for a May 21 release, revolves around social discrimination and physical violence against women, Raveena emphasised on a strong judicial system and sensible parenting to deal with such situations.



It can't be denied that crime against women in our society is on the rise. Asked if the lifestyle of parents and working mothers who don't get enough time to spend with their children are causative factors, Raveena said, "No, I don't think so. Statistics say that most of the children who are bullying any weaker living creatures like stoning a bird, breaking or throwing little puppies from rooftop at a very young age end up becoming criminals because they start taking pleasure in the pain of a weaker person or animal.”

According to the Mohra star, it is the responsibility of parents to develop a compassionate mind in their children. "So it should be taken care of at a very early stage of life. You could be a homemaker or a working parent; if you don't have a sharp observation of your child's behaviour, you can't do that. I see no reason to blame working mothers for that," she stated.

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