Aditi Rao Hydari on winning She Slays Champion Award: I was encouraged to dream and be fearless

Aditi Rao Hydari grew up being surrounded by strong women – her mother Vidya Rao, a renowned classical singer, and grandmother Shanta Rameshwar Rao, an educationist. At the recent HT Health Shots She Slays Awards event, the multilingual actor reflected upon how her past learnings have shaped her present and prepared her for the future.

Aditi, who has made inroads into the world of OTT with power-packed performances in Taj and Jubilee, will next be seen on screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Heeramandi. She will also feature in a silent feature film Gandhi Talks.

She won the She Slays Champion Award for breaking language barriers and taking on unconventional roles.

Looking elegant in a subtle green Indian ensemble, Aditi gleamed with joy as she received the award from Praveen Someshwar, Managing Director and CEO – HT Media Ltd, and Ankush Kaul, Chief Business Officer – Ambience Group.

She said, “I think champion is too big a word for me! I have a lot more to do and many more dreams to live. But this one, a She Slays Champion Award, is something my mother and grandmother would be the happiest to know about. I am everything I am because of them. It is because they really encouraged me to dream, to be fearless and to always be a little child, which I continue to be today.”

The actor further said that she wasn’t just taught to “fearlessly live out my dreams, but to also do it with conviction, grace and dignity”.

Aditi also shared some words of wisdom with the audience.

“Always believe that if you are your authentic self, you will always learn, grow and hopefully always shine. Thank you for this (award) as it encourages me to constantly keep dreaming and hopefully shining,” added the actor.

The HT Health Shots She Slays Awards, presented by Ambience and powered by Vedanta, honoured over 20 women changemakers from diverse fields of work. Singer Usha Uthup was honoured as She Slays Legend.