At an exclusive session hosted by Indian Chamber of Commerce as part of its 95th Annual General Meeting, five-time World Champion and Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and actor Sanya Malhotra were in town to on October 31 to share their journeys, inspirations, mental health and women empowerment. Mehul Mohanka, president, ICC, and, Ameya Prabhu, senior VP, ICC, chatted with the accomplished ladies in what was an insightful discussion.
A packed house at Taj Bengal first listened to the award-winning shuttler PV Sindhu’s story, who picked up the badminton racquet at the age of eight and whose parents were volleyball players. “Initially it was just for fun but when I started improving and taking the game seriously, I had to travel 57kms up and then 57kms down and then also manage my studies and tuition. I always wanted to become Number One in India. My parents always stood by me and supported me. The sacrifices and hard work has got me till here,” she said.Sanya, who made her big Hindi film debut with the Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal in 2016, instantly connected with Sindhu on parental support. “Like PV, I never gave up because of my father. He has been a pillar of strength to me and whenever I would call him, dejected, he would boost my confidence,” said Sanya, who is also a trained ballet dancer. She “had this deep intuition that people will judge” her if she told them that she wanted to become an actor. “I am passionate about dancing and I had planned that through dance I will get into Bollywood. So I even auditioned for a dance reality show. That was my plan B but things didn’t go as I wanted,” she said. Looking chic in a black jumpsuit, Sanya who has Jawan, Meenakshi Sundareshwar, Badhaai Ho, Kathal and Pagglait, among others on her CV, and for whom dance is a therapy, also spoke about the intense drill of getting into the role of a professional wrestler for Dangal. “Even though my wrestling scene was for around a minute, I wanted to look like a professional wrestler and talk like one. It was as important to me as Fatima’s (Sana Shaikh) who was wrestling throughout the film. We trained for over a year,” she said. Sanya also spoke about being confident of getting her big break with Dangal, her camaraderie with co-star Fatima, being more disciplined after the film and more. Sanya also talked about her role in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Pataakha and how it was opposite to what she is in real life.
Sanya Malhotra as Babita Kumari in Dangal
The discussion shifted to Sindhu’s match during the Denmark Open with three-time World Champion Carolina Marin. Answering a question about preparing differently for different players, Sindhu said: “Yes, the strategy is different with different players. I think Carolina is an aggressive player. She has her way to win and that’s how she annoys her opponent. We had a small argument but it’s all for the game and that should be there. Outside that we are ok. Winning and losing is part of life but you will have to be ready for the mental game as well.”
Sindhu also threw light on starting from the grassroot level, tapping into the potential of young girls and women in sports and guiding them properly with the right infrastructure. She also spoke about working ‘a bit harder’ to stay at the top and how confidence and support of cooperatives contribute to the cause of athletes.
The concluding part threw light on the significance of mental health. Sanya spoke about going in for therapy regularly and more so before taking up a difficult role. Sindhu said it was important to talk and have an open communication channel. “The biggest fear that athletes go through is ‘Can I come back?’ You need to believe in yourself, but it’s important to know what is going on within you. You need to speak about it and share,” was Sindhu’s parting advice.