Soha Ali Khan on World animal day: The first connection I had with an animal was with a little mouse that lived in my bedroom

On World animal day, in a chat with us Soha Ali Khan says she has always had an instinctive connection with animals. She says, "As a child I grew up spending a lot of time in Bhopal and Pataudi surrounded by farm animals. At our home in Delhi we were surrounded by a lot of guests like lizards and mice. The first connection I had with an animal was with a little mouse that lived in my bedroom. City children today would be freaked out but I was comfortable sharing my room with a little mouse." She recalls spending a lot of time in the wild in jungles with her family. "I understood animals weren't there to play with, they just existed and we didn't need to interact excessively with them. I was curious but respected that there could be distance between us and animals," says Soha.

The actor recalls her father (Tiger Pataudi) telling her it's important for every child to grow up with a pet. "That's why we always had dogs growing up. It teaches you to deal with grief because you will inevitably outlive your pet and have to deal with that grief as a child. That is an important life lesson. When Masti (Kunal Kemmu's dog) passed away it was difficult for Kunal and me but also for Inaaya, it was the first time she had encountered loss and the finality of death." Kunal went on to get a tattoo of Masti. She says, "I knew Kunal was going to get Masti tattooed on his body and it was touching because she was his baby and a tattoo is permanent. It's beautiful to carry a memory of an animal on your body, he had an incredibly deep bond with Masti, so it was only right she should be with him forever."

Currently pet parent to her dog Oreo Soha says animals pick up on tone, body language, energy or any change in routine. She says, "If Kunal and I start to have an argument or opposing point of view, Oreo picks up on that and starts barking. He jumps on us and tries to get us to bring down our tone. Oreo is empathetic, he comes to whoever is feeling low and licks your ear or put his head on you. He's like a therapy dog."

She says yhe animal She is fascinated by is the elephant. "They are massive but also intelligent. I'm intrigued by how they form bonds, I would love to observe them in their natural environment without being intrusive. I've seen mothers protecting their babies as well as how they flap their ears when angry, during a trip to South Africa, it's terrifying."

Speaking about how Inaaya looks after Oreo she says, "She makes sure she's not feeding him too many treats and he's not having the food we have. When her friends come home she instructs them on how to look after him. She does not getting carried away and remembers he's not a soft toy and that there is a certain way you have to carry him, their spine is different unlike ours."