Aahana Kumra wants to follow in the footsteps of her two idols — actors Amitabh Bachchan and Naseeruddin Shah. While she began her career with the latter in the film Sona Spa (2013), she got a chance to work with the former in the television show, Yudh. “I have always wanted to lead my professional life like Naseer saab and Bachchan saab. They are my inspirations. I would really like to become an example someday, just like them,” says Kumra.

The 37-year-old goes on to explain why she adores Big B. “Bachchan saab works every day. I once met him at Mehboob Studio (Mumbai) on a Sunday. I asked, ‘Sir, aaj Sunday hai. Don’t you think you should take an off?’, and he laughed,” she shares.

Kumra, who has been a part of several films and OTT projects, including Forbidden Love, Betaal and Rangbaaz, continues, “It is amazing to see that these gentlemen work all the time. For them, their work matters the most. It keeps them alive.”

Kumra says she likes the way Shah, 72, takes care of his craft, even at this stage of his career, where he is already an established name. “He blocks his time for theatre. It’s such a purist way of working, and that purity is going away from the world. You have to educate yourself. I learnt that from Ratna (Pathak Shah, actor and Naseeruddin Shah’s wife) ma’am too. I worked with her in Lipstick Under My Burkha (2016),” she says.