Limitless, Sophie's choices

success formula

Singer, VJ, Actor, Entertainer, Dreamer, Dancer, Fashion Lover! Good things come to those who work their asses off & never give up!’ is how Sophie Choudry describes herself on Twitter. The versatile artiste lets her work speak for herself.

Growing up in London, Sophie wanted to be a singer and star in her own music videos. Her other passion was films, but she saw herself as more of a pop star. What she became was a graduate in European politics and French, from the London School of Economics. So I ask her if it was hard to give up on a potentially good career in performing arts. “Well, I absolutely loved studying. Singing and acting were my dreams which I never imagined could become my reality. My education was my reality and I loved it. I was pretty sure I would get a job in the UN. But once I graduated, I gave my dream a chance. I took out a year to come to India, became an MTV VJ, and a year later, my remix numbers ‘Mera Babu Chail Chabila’ and ‘Ek Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya’ became hits.

There was no looking back. In life, if you don’t take risks, you risk losing more,” she says.
On asking if she prefers one of her many talents over the other, she stresses that “It’s not fair to ask an entertainer to choose any one dimension of her personality. I’m multifaceted and proud of it. That’s the reason I have survived here for so long, without a godfather and without controversy. But singing and performing live on stage are an unmatchable high.”

Sophie was a contestant on the popular celebrity dance show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa (Season 7). “The fact that it was the last time Madhuri Dixit, Karan Johar and Remo D’souza were judging together made it more special, because I believe they are the best judge panel for a show like that. It was extreme hard work, and for someone like me who had had two slip discs in the past, a challenge, but I managed to connect with the judges and the audience. People saw me not as a diva, but as the real Sophie — hard working, sweet, emotional and talented — and that made the journey totally worth it.”

In fact, when she is asked to share something about herself that she hasn’t shared before, she goes back in time to recall that “I got straight As in my A levels and was an extremely studious girl. So much so that before my exams, my headmistress called my mother and told her to not allow me to look at my books for a few days. She thought I needed a holiday.”

Sophie has acted in several Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. So how has it been working in regional cinema? “It was amazing being directed by Prabhu Deva for a Tamil song in his film and absolutely awesome to work with Mahesh Babu for a Telugu song. The fan following of these superstars in the south is at another level, and they were extremely professional.”

When it comes to the relationship between social media and celebrities, where does she stand? “We live in a digital world and have to be up-to-date and connected! As a pop singer, it’s even more important, because unlike previously, when television channels and the radio played pop songs all the time, we are now dependent on YouTube and other digital mediums. Fortunately for me, my new song — ‘Sajan Main Nachungi’ —has done well on YouTube. This encourages me to come up with more singles. I love being an entertainer,” she says.