• 
  Divya Dutta
• 
  Deepti Bhatnagar
• 
  Ramona Arena
• 
  Rajshree Thakur
• 
  Shweta Pandit

Queen certainly was one of the biggest hits of 2014. The movie tells the tale of a diffident, shy and small town girl, who does not let the disappointment of the break-up of her engagement get her down. She takes over the reins of her life instead of falling prey to self-pity and regret. Thus in discovering herself, she underwent a life altering transformation and became a head strong and confident individual who never looked back. Celebrating the journey of ‘rediscovery’, after premiering the movie, Sony Max now caught up with several women actors and asked them to share their ‘Queen’ moment - the moment where they rediscovered their inner strength and didn’t let disappointment and failure get them down.

Divya Dutta: A few years back after my break-up, I thought my entire world had ended. It was only when my friend mentioned that a normal person would give anything to be in my shoes, that I realized I need to get up and get going. Began with working on myself and hit the gym with a vengeance. And the change in me was apparent, from a Punjabi plump good actor to a sexy siren. Superb offers started coming in, one of them was Delhi-6 for which I won several coveted awards. Standing on stage to receive the awards whilst giving thanks above was my ‘Queen’ Moment.”

Deepti Bhatnagar: “Coming from a small town I mistakenly thought my Queen Moment was when I won the Miss India title but that was only the beginning of my journey. This title helped me get onto modelling & later to films. But as I wasn't enjoying working in films I decided to leave it all and proceeded to become a producer and travel the world anchoring my own shows. Though I loved travelling the world my ‘Queen’ Moment was when I got to anchor and produce the show Yatra and visit all the holy places in India as well as abroad. It has helped me to understand life better and made me the person I am today.”

Ramona Arena: “My ‘Queen’ Moment was the day I moved out of my parents' house after I graduated, despite them living in Mumbai. They were displeased and upset because it was not the right way of life in India - definitely not for a girl. But I am far too independent and was most determined to make it on my own. I had been saving up for this day since I was 14 years old and I had a point to prove to myself first and then to the others around me who expected me to go running back after a while. But I didn’t, I worked everywhere, did all the things I love doing and I made it in an industry where I had no contacts. I still live by myself and given a choice would do exactly that all over again. I am most grateful for my friends and life’s blessings for all the support and opportunities it has and still keeps bringing my way.”

Rajshree Thakur: “I was a news reader with a channel and one day I decided to leave my job and informed my boss about the same. And on the same day I get a call to come for auditions for a new show called 'Saath Phere'. While I took this very casually and made reasons to not go for auditions, the production guys forced me and requested me to give it a try. The same day my ex-boss from the channel calls me for some work to be finished before I left the job. After completing my work, I attended the auditions in the evening. Within a week I get a confirmation call that I have been chosen as the protagonist for this new show. This was an eye opener for me giving my career a new path as I had never thought of acting before. As a girl in Mumbai, I travelled by local trains, however for my first ever international trip to London, I had to travel with four bodyguards for a show. That was my actual ‘Queen’ Moment.”

Shweta Pandit: “My ‘Queen’ Moment was truly when I got a standing ovation when I was 11 years old at Wembley Arena in London. I sang ‘Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon’ and everyone had cried in the audience! I didn’t even know then if I was good enough to be a professional singer but that ‘moment’ just changed my life. I knew this is a gift and I have to share it with the world. Since then I am only working on my music.”


- Dharmishtha Dagia