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s Co-Founder of Driveway Devi, I had the privilege of sitting down with renowned actor Riya Sen and asking her a slew of questions that delved into her childhood and growing up years, the inheritance of a royal as well as artistic legacy, and her thoughts on mental health. Here are excerpts from that extremely candid and no-hold-barred interaction.

I did not face any significant problems in college. I was on my own in Mumbai at the time.

What was it like having a mother who was an icon in her own right but also an incredibly busy actor, and a working professional?

At home, we had guests over and parties all the time, practically every evening. My mother would travel a lot for her work and both my sister and I would miss her ter-

Through any negative phases, I worked on just grounding my feelings by talking to myself through whatever might be troubling me and reassuring myself that all situations are just temporary and that once we are on the other side of this negative phase, life is much better.

What are your views and perception on, and of divorce, especially from the perspective of children of acrimonious couples? Some say children need both parents; others contend it is better to have at least one happy parent, than two miserable ones.

I think that divorce is much harder on children

Could you share the precise circumstances of your foray into acting? Was it expected, suspected, premeditated, or none of the above?

Acting came to me completely by fluke and my actual first film was just at the age of about four where I played my own mother`s child! My family never expected or put any pressure on me to start acting. It somehow just happened and before I knew it, I was knee-deep in it!

Careful contemplation only came after (laughs!).

Speak to some challenges you faced upon debuting celluloid. After all, there was naturally immense pressure and scrutiny was there not?

Main challenge was that I was so young when I started shooting for music videos and movies. I`d be sur-

Fame and celebrity can be a painful and erratic mistress. How have you coped with the various peaks and valleys of stardom?

I`ve certainly gone through my share of extreme situations due to how certain movies have done or just losing opportunities at the last moment. There is a lot of heartache that is not seen on screen!

I have always been very spiritual and practice yoga regularly. This has helped me a lot then Riya, as a Mental Wellness Initiatives Platform, Driveway Devi would love to know your views on Mental Health. Mental health and physical health go together. I think it is extremely important to keep yourself fit and exercising, which has just as positive an impact on our minds as it does on our bodies. Having said that, it is so important to reach out