Somy Ali has never been one to hold back when discussing the darker side of celebrity culture. In a candid conversation, she spoke at length about fame, social media pressure and how success is measured today, questioning the growing weight given to visibility, followers and public approval, and explaining why she values peace of mind far more than public recognition.
Asked what she finds most overrated about celebrity culture, Somy pointed directly to proximity and access, describing how people often treat closeness to a famous face as something sacred, even when that person's actual behaviour doesn't warrant such reverence. She was clear in separating celebrity status from genuine character, arguing that fame is closer to stage lighting than to substance, and that public applause can obscure real harm rather than negate it.
Somy, who founded No More Tears, an organisation working with survivors of abuse, said her work is rooted in a belief that public applause offers little practical value to people dealing with real hardship. For her, meaningful impact has nothing to do with red carpets or public admiration, and everything to do with tangible support for people navigating genuine crises.
The Pressure to Stay Visible
She also reflected on the pressure celebrities face to remain constantly visible, arguing that the definition of relevance has shifted significantly in the social media era. Where relevance was once tied to actual work and output, Somy suggested it now hinges on near-constant online presence, a dynamic she described as something closer to a trap than a genuine creative practice.
A Personal Reckoning With the Industry
Reflecting on her own path, Somy spoke about leaving an industry that she felt reduced women to their appearance, and said she has no interest in measuring her worth through online metrics. She emphasised that the people she works with, survivors of abuse, care little about her follower count; what matters to them is consistent, reliable presence, something she considers true relevance.
Choosing Peace Over Fame and Money
When asked to choose between fame, financial success and peace of mind, Somy did not hesitate, selecting peace of mind and explaining that she has experienced fragments of the other two and witnessed their cost firsthand. She spoke candidly about the personal compromises fame had asked of her in the past, including instances where she felt pressured to protect someone she cared about at her own expense, something she said she now regrets.
Content Culture and the Loss of Privacy
Somy was also critical of the growing trend among celebrities to document nearly every aspect of their lives online, arguing that this constant sharing amounts to inventory rather than genuine intimacy. She expressed concern about how deeply personal moments, difficult or painful ones included, often get turned into content before people have had the chance to process them privately, suggesting that some experiences retain meaning precisely because they are never shared publicly.
Rejecting Metrics as a Measure of Worth
She was equally dismissive of follower counts, views and viral moments as meaningful indicators of success, comparing the current culture to a slot machine driven by noise rather than substance. Instead, she said she measures her own days by tangible outcomes, such as whether someone managed to leave an abusive relationship, rather than by algorithmic performance.
On Public Figures Escaping Accountability
Asked about a trend in Bollywood and social media culture she finds difficult to understand, Somy pointed to what she described as the public glorification of figures despite serious allegations or controversies attached to their names, criticising a culture that elevates such figures to positions of moral authority rather than accountability.
Remembering the Overlooked
Somy also raised concern over how public memory tends to favour celebrities while forgetting ordinary individuals connected to widely covered incidents, specifically naming Nurullah Sharif and Police Constable Ravindra Patil as examples of people she felt had been unjustly forgotten by a culture more focused on celebrity than substance.
Challenging Victim-Blaming Narratives
Drawing on her own experience in the entertainment industry, Somy pushed back strongly against narratives that hold women responsible for harm done to them based on their choices, whether relating to clothing, work environment or personal relationships. She argued that women who remained in difficult industry situations should be seen as witnesses to what occurred, not as people who tacitly consented to it, and called for scrutiny to shift toward the systems and structures that made leaving difficult in the first place, rather than toward the women who stayed.
