Birthday special: 8 times Sonakshi Sinha proved she’s Bollywood’s biggest rebel

Sonakshi Sinha, who turned 34 on June 2, is one of Bollywood biggest rebels, unabashed and brutally frank when need be. Perhaps it’s the backing of her powerful father, actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha or maybe it’s second nature, but the young starlet has proven time and again that she sets her own rules and plays by them. Here are eight times when she came back like a boss:

When she was body-shamed: Sinha, who has been often body-shamed on social media, says there is so much more to a person than their looks and that physical appearance is just an illusion. “I am someone who has been on the other side and thus seen both sides of the coin. I have grown up as an overweight teenager. It was not ever a problem for me,” she told IANS in 2018. “I used to focus on other things which I am good at. That way I never felt pressurised to get slim.” Today, she promotes a good, healthy body image.

When she took risks in Bollywood: Sinha says the gender divide in Bollywood is fast fading and this should inspire women in the movie industry. “If there is any time to take risk, it is now with films, filmmaking and characters, because we never know what clicks with the audience. And every time you give them something different, they accept it and lap it up,” Sinha told IANS in 2019. “It is a very good time to be a girl in the industry because they are making characters for women. Roles keeping women in mind, and scripts are being written for women. So, I feel that way it is definitely on a rise.” To prove her point, Sinha chose to do films such as ‘Akira’ and ‘Force 2’, moving away from convention with a purpose.

When she dealt with trolls like a boss: In 2019, Sinha told Gulf News she takes failures on her chin, just as she is equally pragmatic about the harsh trolls and an army of haters that come her way. “They are quite a few out there. I see them but I choose to ignore them. I don’t think that they [haters] deserve any kind of attention or time of my day or my energy. The only reason why they hate on you is that they can’t be you. That’s what I tell myself.”

When she quit Twitter to practice self-care: In June 2020, Sinha famously quit Twitter to actively step away from the negativity online. At a time when celebrities use the crutch of social media to stay relevant, Sinha chose self-care over all else. “The first step to protecting your sanity is to stay away from negativity. And nowhere more of that than Twitter these days! Chalo (Okay), I’m off — deactivating my account. Bye guys, peace out,” she wrote at the time.

When she stepped up to bat for people being bullied online: A month after she quit Twitter, Sinha joined hands with special IGP of the Maharashtra Police and other cyber experts for a new initiative ‘Full Stop To Cyber Bullying’. The actor took to Instagram to launch the campaign where she has teamed up with Mission Josh and other cyber experts. “Social media was made with the intention to spread love and positivity. Unfortunately, it has become a toxic place with the rampant rise of cyberbullying and mental harassment. I have been a victim of trolls and abuses myself,” the ‘Akira’ actor said at the time to ANI.

When she took responsibility for her films failing: Speaking to Gulf News last year, the actress admitted she made some bad choices along the way. “I take full responsibility for it as I signed them in my complete consciousness and I have done it to the best of my ability. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not work. But I had a healthy working relationship with all my crew. At the end of the day, it is my film and I was a part of it. I will never disown a film. I am responsible like that,” she said.

When she proved herself as the perfect biker chick: Last February, Sinha brought traffic to a standstill, literally, when she hopped on board B a Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350X on public roads in Mumbai as she made her way to meet Kareena Kapoor Khan’s her radio chat show ‘What Women Want’. No damsel in distress or worried about menial thing such as pollution or a bad hair day, Sinha proved there’s no one like her in Bollywood today.

When she took on nepotism with a pinch of salt: In the wake of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, the debate on nepotism and star kids versus outsiders singled out many actors from acting dynasties in Bollywood. Sinha was also subjected to the same. But rather than denying it all, she took it all head on, telling The Quint last year: “There’s a lot of misdirected anger about a lot of things, a herd mentality… One person said something, and the whole world starts attacking star kids without putting any sense into it. Okay, fine, being related to a film family can help in that first meeting or that first audition or that first film. But, after that, what? This this whole hullabaloo about, ‘Oh, somebody can make or break someone’, I’m sorry, nobody can make or break anyone except for the audience.”