The Outlook Podcast Archive - The actress turning her back on Bollywood to follow her dad's dreams

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Sonia Mann's life has been guided by the letter her father wrote her on her birth. In September 1990, when she was just 16 days old, her father was killed in the Indian city of Amritsar, when he was on his way to meet her for the first time. Baldev Singh Mann was a left-wing activist and revolutionary, and in his letter he urged Sonia to continue his work. Sonia grew up to become an actress, but she tells Jo Fidgen that she carried his letter with her everywhere. In 2020, when thousands of India's farmers began protesting against the introduction of new agricultural laws, Sonia saw a chance to follow in her father's footsteps. She joined the protests on the edge of the city of Delhi and has turned her back on the world of movie-making to support them.

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Picture: Sonia Mann taking a selfie at the farmer's protests in Delhi
Credit: Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Published on Thursday, 11th March 2021.

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