Social media is a fake world: Urvashi Rautela

Dubai - The Bollywood actress gets candid with City Times on a visit to the Khaleej Times office

Pageant queen turned Bollywood actress Urvashi Rautela has rarely been out of the spotlight since her teen modelling days. And yet, the striking Hate Story IV star, who represented India at the Miss Universe pageant in 2015, came across as remarkably grounded when she visited the Khaleej Times office on Sunday, August 12, for a chat.

We quizzed Urvashi, who was resplendent in a glittering black dress and the cynosure of all eyes in the room, about what she'd been up to recently. "I was awarded the title of the Youngest Most Beautiful Woman in the Universe 2018 by the government and tourism of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and they also named a flower after me! It was really nice and unexpected," she said.
She was also excited to inform us that her latest project is a film with Sanjay Dutt. "I play a fashion designer. It's a comedy so I'm really happy because I love doing comedies and entertaining people. It's by the makers of Housefull 3. I'll be shooting for the Sanjay Dutt film after I get back to India. I also have a couple of other projects in hand which I can't really talk about right now."
The evils of social media
Despite having a following of over 9 million on Instagram and 12 million on Facebook, the soft-spoken Urvashi (who won the Most Viral Celeb of the Year Award in 2016), while acknowledging her social media popularity, did not mince words about the dangers of living in a 'fake world.'
"My social media activity - it's kind of me as well as my social media team pushing and telling me - you have to do it. But no matter how many numbers I have, there is a strong message I want to put out there about the brutal truths of social media. I know it's the next big thing, but it's not reality. It is a fake world. People right now are judging themselves based on the number of likes they get, the number of followers and comments, and that's completely false!"
She rued the fact that so many people are not "engaging in real conversations" anymore. "We're all busy on our phones. this makes me sad. Technology has taken over in such a big way - even kids - earlier we used to play games like kho kho in the mud; we actually enjoyed our childhood. When I look at kids right now, they are always on their computers, laptops, iPads. I think people should not take technology too seriously - okay, I have so many followers on social media, people are congratulating me, but I just want to say that this entire phenomenon has become way too serious nowadays. I want to tell youth - do not take it seriously, this is not the end of your life. They are just so much into it that they are in a different world altogether."
She asserted that even though she is extremely active on social media, her agenda is not just getting numbers. "I didn't have to try hard for those numbers - I got those numbers. I'm putting up posts for entertainment - just to make people happy. Because I'm a public figure, I want to spread positivity, I want people to be motivated and inspired. You can see my posts - they are all about positivity, fitness -  I want to to show people that fitness and taking care of their health is important. My social media posts are filled with good things. Because I feel I have a huge responsibility towards people and I have to make better use of my social media platforms. In fact I have a phone cover that says 'Social media is really injurious to your mental health'. Instagram or any other form of social media should not control your mind. You should be the one controlling social media. This is my message for the youth."
Immune to trolling
With social media popularity arises the issue of trolls, so does the 24-year-old beauty, who has been featured in the prestigious TC Candler 100 Most Beautiful Faces list, have a hard time dealing with them?
"I don't pay attention to bad comments at all. It might be hard for some people to accept this fact but I'm a very different kind of person, I don't get jealous of anyone. I just feel that it's a useless emotion. If you see some other person doing extremely well you should take it as motivation and strive to be better than that person. Over the years I've tried to make myself immune to negative comments. They used to hurt me but one day I sat down and actually thought about it - many of the people leaving these comments don't have real profiles, and they are hiding behind these fake profiles. They are taking out their frustrations. I feel sad for them. But at the same time I want them to motivate themselves and not feel jealous of anyone. There's no point. You can always learn from people, motivate each other, inspire each other. Social media is a completely fake, bulls**t thing - I don't take it seriously, even though I'm one of the most viral celebrities!"
'Sport is my first love'
Prominent among her posts on social media are fitness videos and the former athlete says sport has taught her a lot. "I was a national level basketball champ. My brother is a national level footballer. It was a rule in our family that we had to play for two hours every day. And I ended up playing so many games. Apart from basketball, there was kho kho, kabaddi, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put. I've been an athlete before anything else. Sport is my first love and all the values I've learned in my life are not only from my parents but also from sport because it has instilled in me discipline and how to take the good moments along with the bad moments. Sport teaches you not to take everything to heart."
Why being an outsider counts
Bollywood is currently inundated with star kids (social media can't get enough of them); bagging good roles was never easy and must be particularly difficult now. Urvashi however seems unperturbed by this fact and her confidence has to be admired. "Just be yourself. I'm not in a rat race at all. Among the youngest lot I'm the only girl who has a beauty pageant background. There are a lot of actors right now who are star kids. They are not outsiders. But I think being an outsider is my biggest advantage. I have that connect with people - they think 'Oh, she is just like us'. There is a lot of debate going on about nepotism but I think I have an advantage because no matter what happens, no one can snatch this thing from me - that I'm a self-made girl! Nothing was served to me on a platter. I'm extremely thankful to God and my fans, I have achieved much more than I ever expected or imagined."
Why Urvashi loves Dubai
Urvashi is no stranger to Dubai and admits to having a 'strong connection' to the city. "It's actually a great mix of both work and pleasure - you end up going shopping at The Dubai Mall or having some great adventures. Going to different places is wonderful, because Dubai is one such place - so multicultural - and there are infinite things to do.
"I like everything about Dubai. It's like my second home. My brother is studying here at Emirates Aviation University - he's a pilot. And that's what makes my connection even stronger to the city. Apart from that, I'm really happy the audience here has been so appreciative of my work in Bollywood and that's what keeps bringing me back - the last time I was here was for the opening ceremony of a cricket event and before that it was for a performance at TOIFA (Times of India Film Awards). I'm currently staying at Palazzo Versace Dubai - it's such a beautiful property! Whenever I come here I find the city is constantly changing - there's nothing permanent about it. There are so many different options - so many things to do; I'm really looking forward to skydiving this time!"
Message for Khaleej Times
Hello Khaleej Times. This is Urvashi Rautela and I love you Khaleej Times. I have to tell you that Khaleej Times is my most favourite publication ever and there will always be so much love and respect for Suhail Galadari and the entire team. I love you all. You just make
me feel special. Thank you!
enid@khaleejtimes.com