For long, women have been told to conceal their vulnerabilities. But on International Women’s Day today, actor Shruti Haasan is urging people to change this attitude. Instead, she wants them to embrace their truth and not hide it.

“I don’t know if it is a female thing or a human thing [to feel that] when we are vulnerable, we [need to] wear an armour of humour or projected strength. We have to appear stronger than we’re feeling,” she says.

The 36-year-old confesses it took her a long time to break out of this social construct herself. “I used to feel like [I should] let my vulnerability show through my music or my writing [so that] nobody would really know. I did that for a very long time. A lot of people keep doing that,” says the daughter of actor-politician Kamal Haasan.

Opening up about her own journey, she shares, “When I was about 30, I realised I can’t carry on like this anymore; that I have to break down and start from scratch, which is when I took a break.”

The actor, who has appeared in films such as Luck (2009) Ramaiya Vastavaiya (2013), and Gabbar is Back (2015), says she used the time to reassess her life. “Now, I feel vulnerability is my strength. It’s not a weakness as it connects you to the human experience that others have too,” she opines.

Today, Haasan, who has also made a name for herself as a singer, hopes this authenticity reflects in her work, music and at every step of her life. “It is difficult because we live with intellectual vanity at so many levels. But I have been working on it for years, and will continue to work on it because you have to stay true to the changes in your life as well,” concludes the actor, who is busy with a web series and Salaar at the moment.