Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 2 actress Aalika Shaikh reveals why she left her family, changed her name!

Pic courtesy: Instagram/Aalika Shaikh

New Delhi: TV actress Aalika Shaikh, best known for her role in the Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya 2, recently revealed why she changed her name from Shaheen Shaikh to Aalika Shaikh in an interview with a leading daily. She opened up on long-standing issues she's had with her family and how women weren't treated as equals at their home.

She told Times Now Digital, "Actually, maine meri family se sab kuch chod diya tha, maine ghar chod diya tha. Main ek Muslim family se belong karti hu aur mere yaha ladkiyon ko pehle padhaya nahi jata, dusra unki shaadi bhi hojati hai jaldi se. Aur meri jitni cousins hai unki shaadiyan hogayi hai however I am not in touch with them. Mere baate nahi hoti family se.

(I have left my family and my home. I belong to a Muslim family and here women are not given education, and they get married very quickly. All my cousins are married. I don't talk to my family)".

She added, "Aaye hai dost, gaye hai, aisa nahi hai ki mere dost rahe hi hai, bohot saare dost mere life mein nahi hain." 

The actress also revealed that her family wasn't happy with her decision to star in TV shows.

She said, "Jab maine ghar chhoda tha, maine socha tha main apna naam karungi. Kyunki vaisa hota tha ke (log) mom ko bolte the tumhari beti aise kar rahi hai, vaise kar rahi hai, humare liye toh ye haram hai, vo haram hai aur burkha pehen na hota hai ye sab jo hota hai Muslim (community) mein.  If I have to do anything related to religion and God ya kuch pehen na hai, I will do it on my own. Halaki main aisi family se hoon jaha ladkiyon ko kuch nahi milta hain, life matlab khatam hai - jaha se shuru hoti hai vahi khatam ho jati hai - shaadi bacche and all. Vo bhi shayad mere dil mein reh gaya hoga, tabhi ka episode, jo mujhe shaadi wali feeling aati nahi hai.

(When I left home, I thought that I will make a name for myself. Because people used to tell my mom 'your daughter is doing this', 'your daughter is doing that', 'this is haram for us', I'm in such a family where girls don't get anything, life is over for them.")

The actress, who made her debut in Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya in 2009, concluded by saying that apart from making her identity. she also chose to change her name so that her family doesn't face negative comments and their reputation stays intact.