Sana Saeed Opens Up on Accent Struggles in the US: 'Wanted to Be Heard'

Sana Saeed opens up on accent struggles in the US: 'I wanted to be heard'

Mumbai, July 2

She shared how her experience pushed her to work on being more clearly understood. Reflecting on her journey, the 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' actress revealed the challenges she faced while adapting to a new environment and language style. She also spoke about how these experiences shaped her perspective. For her, being "heard" became an important part of effective communication.

Taking to Instagram, Sana posted a video where she is heard saying, "Okay, little story for me. When I came to LA for the first time in 2016 to study, I remember going to a restaurant and wanting to have water. But it was water back then. And I remember asking him about five to eight times, I said water, water, water, water, water, can I have some water? And he would say soda."

"He said, do you want to Coke? And I realized that day that if I ever, ever had to live here, I would have to learn this new language. I would, it would be very important for me to feel heard and communicate it. And be audible, most importantly. So, I just really wonder why do we shame people for changing their accents? It's, it's not easy. I, I had to do training, I worked really, really hard to, you know, feel heard."

"And isn't that the most important thing as human beings to feel heard? So, yeah. Just wondering if you've had a similar experience. I just saw a couple of comments on my last post and so many people questioned the accent without really realizing a lot of work gets put in. It's hard work. It's like learning a new language altogether," she added.

For the caption, she wrote, "I'll be honest, my accent isn't even close to perfect. But somewhere between Mumbai and Los Angeles I made a decision. I wanted to walk into any room and be understood. Not because my original accent was wrong but because as an actor, communication is my entire instrument. So, I trained it. The way you'd train anything you care about. No accent is more valid than another. We are all just human beings trying to reach each other across geography, language, culture. That's not something to be ashamed of. That's something to respect. And yes, the second my mom calls every single bit of it comes flying right back out."

Sana Saeed is based in Los Angeles, California. She began her career as a child artist in the iconic Bollywood film "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" and later appeared in "Student of the Year."

She also participated in the reality shows "Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 6," "Nach Baliye 7," and "Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 7."

— IANS