GOOD SPORTS: Champion of Women's Rights
Back in 1992, when she was just 15, Somy Ali moved from Miami to Mumbai to act in Bollywood movies—all because she had a crush on Salman Khan and hoped to date him. The Pakistani native appeared in nine films and won Khan’s heart, at least for eight years.
After she and Khan broke up, she returned to Florida and now operates No More Tears, a nonprofit organization that helps immigrant women who have been abused by their husbands. Khan and his friends are among those who have supported No More Tears, which is seeking donations through its website (http://www.nmtproject.org/). “There’s no paid staff, no one on salary, just interns and volunteers; 100 percent of the money goes to the victims,” Ali, 35, told the New York Times. “We’re struggling very badly financially. I’d hate to see No More Tears shut down.”
Though her Bollywood days are far behind her, she still speaks highly of Salman Khan. Well, sort of.
“He has the most generous heart I’ve ever seen,” she said. “He will give the shirt off his back to someone. In my teenage years if I learned a lot about being good and doing good, I learned it from him and his family. He was beyond wonderful to me ... aside from the cheating.”
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.[Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]
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