Because you're worth it...

Dear Shriya,

In precisely 242 days you will leave home for ever. You will come back for vacations, but this will never be home as it has been. That honour now belongs to #nyc . You set your heart on it 2 years ago & made it to the doors of #TischSchoolofArts at NYU. Bravo! You will be the first member of our family to attend a world class institute and follow her dream, my dream. As you prepare for lift off a lot of things will change. Baba will go from being a physical and omnipresent force to a virtual and on-demand presence. The remote will now be in your hands, the genie will have to be summoned. So before you disengage I wanted to give you with some advice. Consider this as unsolicited gyaan from your old man – take it, trash it, the choice is yours.

1. Take care of your BODY, MIND and MONEY in that order. Your field of choice is one of impressions. Keeping yourself fit, well-groomed and always presentable is the price of entry. Nurture your body, get lots of exercise, eat healthy, meditate, do yoga and always carry the best UV protection #LaRochePosay. You have inherited your mother's flexibility and my stature, maximize both. But just doing that won't be enough. Show business is also about intellect and those who get to the top and stay there have brilliant minds. Nourish your soul. Read a lot - history, philosophy, politics, biographies, poetry - devour books. Watch lots of Cinema - in all languages - intense work by the great auteurs. Listen to all kinds of music. Sing, practice your guitar. And when you want to snack on wisdom, read the #nyt (always insightful) and #newyorker (always rich). Be hungry and stay on the right hand side of the Kruger Dunning curve. About money, learn to save before you learn to spend. Your body and wealth are ephemeral goddesses. Keep a close eye or they'll vanish before you know it.

2. If you're the smartest person in the group, you're in the wrong group. Surround yourself with people smarter than you, better than you at something. This will make you reach for higher ground all the time. Meet lots of people, develop contacts, dazzle everyone with your first impression - from the usher to the Dean. But also develop a close circle of friends. And yes - Fall in Love - head over heels, but make sure that he's better than you at something and keep pushing him to stay that way. The day he stops doing it, find someone else.

3. Chase your dream but remember that it will be hard – Don’t Ever Give Up. Getting in was the easy part, completing NYU maybe slightly more difficult. The real battle will begin only after that. The climb will be steep and you will encounter boulders with bullies and potholes with pessimists. Fight them, ignore them, walk over them, but as Churchill said KBO - Keep Buggering On. You'll meet failure more often than success. It will crush your soul, but that will be the time to rise. You will need a will of steel, guts to match and a skin as thick as armour. The fight will be tough, but remember - Pain is fleeting, Glory lasts forever.

4. Take risks, make mistakes, learn from them, fail big and then succeed big too! Mistakes are mistakes only in hindsight. Big risks can lead to big rewards. Play that unconventional role no one wants, do something wild & who knows? It might lead you to the Oscars. Coppola was told that #ApocalypseNow would destroy him & he was nearly bankrupt - he won the Palme D’Or. 6 Actors had rejected Zanjeer & Baazigar before Amitabh and Shahrukh accepted them and went on to become superstars. But you are not allowed to make 3 mistakes – Don’t Smoke (ever), Don’t do Drugs (especially stay away from legal ones called medicines) & Don’t get pregnant – at least not so soon. And there’s a 4th one – don't get that tattoo and if you do, make it discrete and let it not be your 1st boyfriend’s name.

Those in your field who have stayed consistently at the top, Meryl Streep, Paul Newman, Anthony Hopkins have all stayed away from vices - except for the pregnancy bit :-). On the other hand, brilliant careers like those of Heath Leger, Amy Winehouse & Philip Seymour Hoffman were cut short due to addiction.

5. You need to learn to take criticism in the right spirit, say sorry like you mean it and say thank you more often. Criticism is a gift, an opportunity to improve. Learn to accept it in the right spirit and make the improvements necessary. You also need to learn to apologize like you mean it. It is a muscle you sorely lack. It will take effort but it can be learned. Start by putting aside your pride and accepting that you could be wrong. Apologize and make amends. Learn it practice it and you will get better. And lastly, while you are on your way up, remember to say thanks. You could not have reached here without helping hands. Did you thank everyone of them? Make sure you do, the universe will reward you richly.

Shriya, I can already picture you in the #cannes dressing room preparing for the premiere of your movie. You are wearing a #saintlaurent outfit and matching #prada shoes. As the #lorealparis makeup artist touches up your face, a banner with the words ‘Woman of Worth’ flutters above you. That night I will not be in the theatre to watch the show, but when you get your first 18 minute standing ovation my applause will be the loudest and longest from wherever I am.

& so, in the immortal words of Amrish Puri – जा सिमरन जा। जी ले अपनी ज़िंदगी