90s Bollywood actress Somy Ali has made an explosive revelation, claiming that she was “boycotted” by the film industry after she opened up about an abusive relationship with a powerful actor. While she refrained from naming the actor, it is well documented that she was in a long-term relationship with Salman Khan.
In an interview with Moneycontrol, Somy Ali revealed that speaking up about the abuse had consequences for her professional and personal relationships in Bollywood. A lot of her close friends from the industry suddenly stopped speaking to her.
Moreover, she claimed that her former boyfriend got her TV show stopped and ruined her NGO, No More Tears, which helps girls forced into child trafficking.
Somy Ali recalls the industry`s reaction to her abusive relationship
Speaking about how her female friendships fell apart, she said, “I had friends like Raveena Tandon, Manisha Koirala, and Tabu. They were my friends at the time. When you’re a teenager, everything revolves around your boyfriend. Your friends tend to take a different path,” said Somy.
“My friends didn’t want to be a part of the ugly part of the relationship I was dealing with. And I don’t blame them,” she added, explaining that they did not want to be involved in her relationship issues and clarifying that she holds no grudges against them now.
The aftermath of going public with her accusations against Salman Khan only got uglier, as many of her friends distanced themselves from her. “People like Sunil Shetty, people like Vivek Oberoi, who is like my rakhi brother – every single one of them stopped talking to me,” she recalled.
“He started telling people she has cancer, which I don’t. Then he said, `She drinks, she’s on drugs, and she’s mentally unstable.` I called Manisha (Koirala) and asked what was happening. She said there’s a lot of toxic stuff being said about you.”
When Somy Ali spoke about her abusive relationship
Years after leaving Bollywood, Somy Ali finally summoned the courage to disclose the abuse she experienced in her relationship with a superstar from the industry (Salman Khan). She spoke about it during a documentary series about domestic abuse, but the situation escalated and spiralled into blackmail.
“We had a show with Discovery Plus and Amazon Prime called Fight or Flight. It was about survivors of abuse, and I was one of them. He didn’t appreciate my He didn’t appreciate my saying that. So he had the show banned. We had a three-year contract. The show aired only for two months. I got a call saying, “If you don’t say a word, we will donate money to your charity. I said that’s exploitation and blackmail. I don`t want your dirty money.” She accused the actor of blackmailing her and maligning her and her NGO`s image.
