ZAREEN CHOOSES PEACE OF MIND OVER BEING NUMBER ONE

Zareen Khan is happy to play the showbiz game by her own rules. She claims she is neither interested in the rat race nor does she believe in forging friendships just for the sake of it. While equations in the film industry are known to be fickle, Khan says she has been able to make some good friends, nonetheless.

Asked if she feels at home in Bollywood, the actor says, “Yes and no. I am not really friends with a lot of people here. You wouldn’t see me in every film party with the top-notch people, whatever the term is. I am not part of that circle, but a few people I have managed to make friends with here. They can be new directors, designers. The industry is not made of only actors., there are technicians too. I hang out with them.”

She asserts that she doesn’t have any actor friend. “I see a lot on Instagram, people really showing they are friends and all. I don’t know how much of it is true though ( laughs). Most people here are very competitive, even though they say they are friends. They all want to be on the top. I am not really in that bracket or zone or trying to compete. I am here, trying to do good, quality work. I am in no race to be called the number one actress, I am very much at peace,” adds the actor, 33, who started her career opposite Salman Khan in Veer (2010), and went on to star in films such as Housefull 2 (2012) and Hate Story 3 (2015).

Khan has had this attitude right from the beginning, and it’s not something she learnt over the years. In fact, she didn’t aspire to be an actor in the first place, and now that she has got into it, she says she just wants to do it well as it helps her take care of her family.

“I have to try to do good work here, it was never that I need to step over people or flatter them just for the heck of getting work. That was never my criteria. I have always been a person on and of my own. Bachpan se dream nahi tha ki badi ho kar actress banungi. I know of people who are in that race and pressurised all the time to be number one. I would rather choose peace of mind,” says the actor.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie recently offered details about her past few years and her family. According to E!News, Jolie candidly admitted to British Vogue that the past few years have been ‘really hard’ for her and her six children, 19-year-old Maddox, 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, 14-year-old Shiloh and 12-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox.

When asked if she feels happy at this stage of her life, she responded, “I don’t know. I’ve been focusing on healing our family.” Though the 45-year-old is unsure about her happiness at this time, she expressed excitement for her 50s, saying, “I feel that I’m gonna hit my stride in my 50s.”

She says that her desire for action and adventure has made motherhood slightly difficult. Nonetheless, the Oscar-winner says she’s “managing through it,” thanks in part to her kids. “They’re helping me, but I’m not good at it at all,” she confessed. Previously, Jolie shared that her kids have been her main priority, even revealing that she split from Pitt with them in mind.

As reported by E!News, though reports have emerged about rifts between the kids and Pitt, Jolie said their children know what really happened. She stated, “Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media, but I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds.”

Most people here are very competitive... They all want to be on the top. ZAREEN KHAN,

PHOTO: SUBI SAMUEL Rishabh Suri Actor