Actress and former beauty queen Sushmita Sen says her journey as a single mother and a star has not been an easy ride as fighting for who you are has its own difficulties.
Often, Sushmita is looked up to as an epitome of strength.
Sushmita told IANS here: "There is an aspect to what they say which I don't take personally... As in they are talking about me, and there are certain amazing qualities in the way I have lived my life, but then you also have to be me to know that it's not an easy ride. It has its own difficulties to fight for who you are."
"It's not an easy job, but you keep doing it for 25 years and it becomes a habit. And you are just accepted post that," added the mother of two adopted daughters Renee and Alisha.
The 42-year-old says women yearn for strength in general.
"Women want that strength and if a person embodies it, they tend to look at that person and say 'you epitomise it'. The truth is it's the desire to epitomise it... That strength in a woman," she added.
Sushmita, who was crowned Miss Universe in 1994 at the age of 18, was here at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2018 to walk the ramp as a showstopper for the label RmKV, which showcased a wide range of reversible, innovative draping and lightweight silk saris.
The actress sported a jumpsuit with a reversible sari and said that wearing the six-yard drape makes her feel more feminine and it's a fashion statement that will never go out of trend.
"I don't think the sari is going out of fashion because as long as you have Hindi films and actors sporting saris, it will never go out of fashion. I think it is fantastic that we are trying to find innovative ways to drape saris because the younger generations likes choices," said Sushmita, whose sari-clad look in "Main Hoon Na" became a rage.
The millennials want to be contemporary in every way possible, she added.
"And to be fair, in the global arena, celebrities around the world have tried to drape it already. Why shouldn't we? This belongs to us. So, of course one should be free to express themselves however they choose," Sushmita asserted.
In terms of acting, Sushmita's last big screen appearances were in the 2010 Bollywood film "No Problem" and in Bengali film "Nirbak".
Talking about making a comeback, she said: " (I am) Finally reading lot of scripts and I really like two. I will tell you when I am closer to signing it."
