Secular Shriya Saran's Muslim 'Rakhi' Brother: Armaan

She's bagged her share of acclaim in the South and has traversed into Hindi cinebiz too. Her last effort: Mission Istaanbul didn't exactly ring in collections of merit. With Gali Gali Chor Hai, Shriya Saran will spring right back into collective psyches enacting Nisha, a Bhopal school-teacher in the Rumy Jafry helmed flick produced by Nitin Manmohan.

Born a Hindu, to Pushpendra, a BHEL employee and Neerja, a chemistry school teacher, Saran is known to celebrate Muslim festivals with much ardour too.

"As a child, I stayed in a colony at Ranipur, that's between Hardwar and Dehradun that was quite like the defense colony in armed forces," reveals Shriya. "In the sense, that there were people of all religions in it. I grew up listening to stories of religion from real people and didn't know of it from just some history text book. So, for me, there is no real difference between one religion and another, because I believe that there is only one God."

Elaborating further on why she celebrates Muslim festivals with greater gusto, Saran says, "My brother Abhiroop and I go to church and to the gurudwara. But I celebrate Muslim festivals too because of my rakhi brother Armaan. He's a Muslim boy, who was adopted by my mother. I believe that I'm truly secular in that sense. Earlier, as a child, I used to believe that festivals were just an excuse to have good food and 'mithais.' But now, I know the real significance behind each of them."