Speaking to RJ Siddharth Kanan, Sara explained why she is so comfortable with her strengths and weaknesses, “I live with a mother who has always shown me the mirror.” She added, “When I was rather healthy, my mother told me, ‘Look, the age of Tun Tun has gone, if you want to become an actor–without any body-shaming involved, you would have to be healthier and slim down’. It was not a vanity thing, it was also for my health.”

She added, “When Love Aaj Kal didn’t work, she showed me the mirror and said, ‘I am your mother, your team is your team, but you are making films for your audience. If they don’t like your work, then you’re doing it wrong.’ These were the two turning points in my career, the decision to become an actor and my first failure. Mom was there, to hold my hand but intellectually to get me to go again.”

Sara also opened up about the possibility of her brother Ibrahim Ali Khan’s acting debut. Asked what advice she has given Ibrahim, she said that she passed on the same advice their parents gave her when she started. “It’s such a personal job. Everyone has their own journey. Ultimately, he has to live it out for himself. The only way to survive is to know who you are from within, and you’ve to hold on to that regardless,” she said.

Sara Ali Khan is neck-deep in the promotions of her film Atrangi Re, which will release on December 24. The film also stars Dhanush and Akshay Kumar.