Anushka Sharma on Army Day: Being an army kid makes you adaptive and open-minded

Actor Anushka Sharma, daughter of an army officer, says defence wards naturally get trained to adapt to the ever-changing dynamics and transform into tough survivors.

Anushka Sharma is one proud army kid. The actor has often credited her father Col. Ajay Kumar Sharma for her success and spoken about her upbringing as a defence ward. She’s also spoken of the family’s fears during the 1999 Kargil War, in which her father fought. Check her interviews, or Twitter timeline and one gets an idea of how proudly she wears the tag of a soldier’s daughter.

Anushka says that being an army kid has instilled confidence in her. (Rohan Shreshtha)

On Army day today, thanking soldiers for their selfless service, she says she owes everything to the organisation.“I wish to extend my heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all ranks and officers of the Indian Army, specially to all deployed in field areas. To the Indian Army, I owe my being, my persona and my outlook. Being an army kid has instilled great confidence in me because of the open, non gender-bias environment I was raised in. We become adaptive, open-minded and survivors,” says the actor, who has given hits such as Sultan (2016), Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) .

Anushka’s childhood picture with her father Col. Ajay Kumar Sharma (Instagram/Anushka Sharma)

The 28-year-old actor, who has done stunts in films, refusing body doubles, shares that the army shaped her growth. “Personally, I have harnessed a great sense of adventure and fun. I can relate to continuous changes, which have added to my personal growth from an early age. Our parents get posted in remote areas of India, where we naturally get trained to adapt to the ever changing dynamics and transform into tough survivors.”

She also says that she had a very liberal upbringing because of her parents army mindset. “Parents from defence background have a more liberated set of values which adds to the inherent confidence and self-belief their children display,” she says.