Actress Soha Ali Khan, who boasts of a strong educational background and sound work experience in the corporate world, has no qualms in saying that actresses in Bollywood are smarter and more intelligent than their male counterparts.
"I think the female actors are far more intelligent than the male actors. I think it's a misnomer to say that actresses are not smart and I think they are deeply in touch with emotions, " Soha told.
Soha, who belongs to the family of the erstwhile Nawabs of Pataudi, attended the British School here before graduating from Oxford University. She then pursued a masters degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
She then worked for the New York-based Ford Foundation and later joined global financial service provider Citibank. Only after that did she venture into the world of Bollywood with "Dil Maange More" in 2004.
Soha, who rose to prominence with "Rang De Basanti", "Khoya Khoya Chand" and more recently "Mumbai Meri Jaan", said actresses had to be smart to manage their career and strike a balance between their public and personal life.
"We do have very intelligent actresses in our country. They are all very capable, smart and managing their professions very well, " she said.
According to her, it is important for actresses to be vigilant all the time due to the multiple and often complicated aspects of their lives.
"There is media, glamour, travelling, managing private and public life - it's difficult and now there's a business angle to films as well. Now it's not just about the art, it's about how you package your image and how you sell a film, your choices of films - and it's all quite unforgiving.
"If you make too many mistakes, there are far too many people who will be ready to do the job and you'll be replaced at the blink of an eye. I think it requires a huge amount of intelligence to be an actor, " Soha added.