Showing posts with label Sameer Vashi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sameer Vashi. Show all posts
Producers felt offended that I was simply turning them down. Gradually, they stopped approaching me-Ayesha Jhulka
8:06 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 19, 2022)
The year 2022 has been quite special for Ayesha Jhulka. The ’90s heroine, who shared screen space with Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, among others, went missing from the scene, but she made a comeback in recent years. She is now enjoying being a part of OTT shows and wants to do a lot more work now. In an interview, the actress talks about why filmmakers were sceptical about approaching her back then, her new inning in the digital space and her decision to not have kids. Excerpts:
You were enjoying stardom back in the ’90s and worked with the top actors of Bollywood in films like Khiladi, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Sangram and Waqt Hamara Hai. Later, you did a couple of guest appearances in movies and slowly vanished from the scene. What happened?
I was out there for quite a long time and did around 70 films, some of which did well, some didn’t, and a few of them did not release at all. I was too young to understand a lot of things.
At one point, I cut down on work because I didn’t want to do films that didn’t satisfy me as an actor. It was a conscious decision. I would literally pick up one film out of the 10 films that came my way. There were big banners reaching out to me too, but I wasn’t keen. Producers felt offended that I was simply turning them down. Gradually, they stopped approaching me. Then there came a time when a lot of television shows came my way. Some of them were really good, but I was wary of the shooting schedules in the television industry. Their contracts also used to make me nervous. It is very difficult to say no, especially when you see that you are being offered good money and TV also gives you a lot of exposure. People used to be surprised knowing that I said no to some TV shows, but at the end of it, I couldn’t see myself working like a machine.
You have now started a new inning in the digital space. Are you happy with the roles that you are being offered now?
I always felt that my potential as an actor was not fully tapped. But now it is exciting to see directors coming up with roles that combine the old image of Ayesha with the Ayesha of today’s times. Back then, for us, it was more about the pretty face and dancing well. Today, more than the looks, the focus is on your performance and that is what I wanted.
Back in the ’90s, as a heroine, you refused to do a bold scene or wear a bikini on screen. And you had also filed a case against a producer and a director who tried to use your cheat shots in a scandalous scene in a film. Do you feel you also paid the price for the choices you made?
Yes, it did affect my journey, as there were actresses who were ready to do these scenes. But I look at it in a positive way, as I feel that in spite of having so many conditions, I still got so much work. For me, my ethics were very important. A lot of people feared that. I remember my secretary telling me ki log darte hain aap se. Times have changed; today, everything is so professional. You have a bound script in hand. Pehle log bolte kuch aur the aur karte kuch aur the.
The actors you once romanced on screen, like Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn, continue to lead the pack and are romancing younger actresses. Do you feel Bollywood has been biased towards heroes?
I think we have to accept certain things. All my former co-stars look so good even now and continue to have so many fans. So why not? They have worked hard and deserve to be there. Filmmakers are still casting them and the young girls who they team up with are getting great opportunities ahead. Why should we crib? Earlier, heroines were expected to fade out after a few films, especially after they got married. The good part is, now we are also getting our due slowly.
On the personal front, you’ve been married for 19 years to Sameer Vashi, a businessman. How did you meet?
I had actually decided to not get married. I felt that I could do so many things if I was not married. Maybe, because I was in a bad relationship and that had an impact on me. I had told my folks also about my decision and they were kind of okay with it. However, one fine day my mom and sister met Sameer at a meditation class. They thought he was good for me. They introduced us and we hit it off from then.
And yours was a conscious decision not to have children?
I had gone through too many emotional ups and downs in life. So, when I told my husband about what I thought, he was fine with it. After Sameer and I got married, we adopted two villages in Gujarat. We take care of the food and schooling of 160 kids there. Talking about motherhood, I can’t take care of 160 kids by bringing them home to Mumbai, so I enjoy that feeling by going to that village. This is the choice that we made for ourselves, and we are very content with it.
I felt my talent as an actor was not explored fully-Ayesha Jhulka
8:03 AM
A popular face in ’90s Bollywood, Ayesha Jhulka tells us why she stepped away from the spotlight
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 2, 2021)
The year was 1991. The film was Kurbaan. And the newcomer paired opposite actor Salman Khan won everyone with her girl-next-door charm. Thus, began Ayesha Jhulka’s rise to stardom, with hits such as Khiladi and Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar (both 1992) cementing her position in Bollywood. However, 1999 onwards, the number of films she did started to dwindle. And the last full-fledged project she starred in was Ada... A Way of Life in 2010.Where did she go?
“I’ve been busy with a lot of things. I worked for animal welfare, and was behind the scenes, doing my bit. I joined my husband’s (construction tycoon Sameer Vashi) business. I travelled a lot, something I couldn’t do as an actor. I’d only travel with the film unit. I wasn’t even getting time with my parents,” Jhulka tells us.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
A student of fashion design at National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jhulka’s foray into acting was purely coincidental. “I just loved watching films and the song and dance sequences. We were in Delhi, and never thought there could be an opportunity like this, but it just happened by fluke,” recalls the 49-year-old, and adds: “When I did my first film, I didn’t know if I’d get any more (work). Then one after the other came, I don’t remember planning anything. I was 16.”
Over the next few years, with as many as five releases in a single year, things got hectic for Jhulka. She calls the busiest phase of her career a “different high”. But admits doing three-four shifts in a day took a toll on her. “We were working so hard, there was no time to even enjoy what you were doing,” she rues.
FADING AWAY FROM THE LIMELIGHT
The actor asserts that she consciously chose to cut down on work after realising she couldn’t do the “typical stuff” anymore. “When you’re at that age, you get similar roles — running around trees and love angles. Tab milte nahin the performance-oriented roles, only the senior artistes would get the mature roles,” notes Jhulka.
Content with her call to step away from the spotlight, she shares, “I felt my talent as an actor was not explored fully. I consciously cut down on films after my biggest hit, Dalaal (1993). I’m glad I did, otherwise I’d have been doing the same stuff.”
COMEBACK PLANS
Does she miss being in the limelight? Jhulka replies she misses the arc lights instead. “I may not miss being in the limelight as much, but I definitely miss working in films because that has always been my first love. I’ve always loved being in front of the camera, on set. I’m passionate about doing good work. Luckily, now a lot of good projects are coming my way, I’m considering web shows. I’m an ardent fan,” she signs off.
Actor Ayesha Jhulka files case against caretaker over pet’s death
8:17 AM
She exhumed the dog’s body after suspecting the caretaker’s claims that he drowned; post-mortem showed the dog was suffocated
Vinay Dalvi (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 20, 2020)
Actor Ayesha Jhulka has filed a case against the caretaker of her farm house in Lonavla after her six-year-olddog was found dead. The police suspect the caretaker, Ram Andre, suffocated the pet to death. The actor, who had buried the dog, got it exhumed for a post-mortem examination after doubts arose in her mind.
Jhulka, who is married to businessman Sameer Vashi, has a farm house in Tungarli area of Lonavala. The couple had two dogs – Rocky and Wrigley – in the farm house.
“Both of them were very close to me. I used to visit the farm house often just for the sake of my pets. I last visited Lonavala in July end to be with them,” said Jhulka, who had adopted them from the street.
“They were like children to me,” said Jhulka who lives in Mumbai.
On September 13, Jhulka’s husband got a call from Andre that Rocky had died after drowning in the water tank.
“Despite it being my mother’s birthday, I left for Lonavala immediately,” said Jhulka.
Jhulka observed that the dog’s body had not bloated despite being in water for several hours as claimed by Andre.
“He told me the dog had gone missing around 7 am and that he found him in the water tank only at 11 am,” said Jhulka.
Andre, who has been working with the family for the last 18 years, also told her that the dog fell in the tank that had a card board lid.
“Somehow, I could not believe Andre’s story. Also, it occurred to me that the tank had a cement cover. The dogs had been there for the past six years, and they never went to that side of the farm house,” said Jhulka. The statements of Andre’s wife and daughter contradicted his, she said.
Despite doubts in her mind, Jhulka buried the dog in the farm house. However, while returning to Mumbai, she spoke to doctors at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, who advised her to bring the dog’s body. “They told me that dogs can usually swim for a long time,” said Jhulka.
The actor returned to Lonavala, exhumed the dog’s body, and reached the SPCA Hospital in Parel late in the night.
According to Baliram Sangle of Lonavla police station, the post-mortem report showed that the dog died of suffocation. On September 17, the police registered a case under section 429 of IPC for mischief by killing or maiming cattle or any other animal.
Sangle said the police have found a bloodstained bedsheet, and are gathering more evidence. “We have also come to know that Andre cleaned the entire farm house after killing the dog,” said Sangle. “I have done everything possible, and hope that the police will help me get justice,” said Jhulka.
Ayesha Jhulka makes a comeback with Anil Sharma's Genius
8:03 AM
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 7, 2017)
Ayesha Jhulka, the cherubic leading lady of Mansoor Khan’s Jo Jeeta
Wohi Sikandar, Abbas-Mastan’s Khiladi and Deepak Bahry’s Kurbaan, is
returning to the spotlight seven years after she hung up her acting
boots with Tanvir Ahmad’s 2010 musical, Ada... A Way of Life. The
actress is up for a comeback with Gadar filmmaker Anil Sharma’s next
directorial, Genius, which also marks the acting debut of his son,
Utkarsh.
Ayesha, who will play Utkarsh’s love interest Ishita Chauhan’s mother in the film, reveals that it was Anil who persuaded her to return to acting. “I was not really prepared to work again, but Anil ji was really insistent. My character is a classy, elegant and an independent woman who is also a liberal mother and has a friendly relationship with her daughter. It’s not the typical, conventional mother, which is what made me say ‘yes’ to it,” the actress says, admitting that she was a little nervous ahead of a photo shoot for the film but is now all set to start filming on December 8. “The best part is that I am working with people I know; my entire staff is back with me, so is designer Shaahid Amir and Anil ji, of course, who I have known for years. It’s like a homecoming for me.”
When asked if she had missed all the action during her time away, Ayesha says that she was too busy with married life. “I have really enjoyed the time I have spent in the industry. Offers from television and web series kept coming in all along but I was not open to it then. I also suffered a slipped disc and was travelling a lot. My husband, Sameer (Vashi), sister, and secretary had been waiting for me to take up an offer for years now. I will do something that interests me but don’t want to get into the rat race,” she asserts.
The actress also shares that she had no reservations about taking up the role of a mother. “I have enjoyed my time as a leading lady. One has to grow with age and accept things the way they are. I have done good work and now there is a chance for the little kids to start doing it,” she reasons, adding the she has been in touch with her colleagues, including Jackie Shroff, Neelam, Govinda and Bhagyashree and even met her Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar team at a reunion recently at Farah Khan’s residence. Farah had debuted as a choreographer with the sports-drama. “It was lovely meeting Mansoor after so many years. Sajid (Khan) who was also there was like ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you working?’. We spent five-six hours together and had a great time.”
Next up, there are plans to venture into filmmaking. “My husband and I will be jointly directing a love story with consumerism as the backdrop. We should be able to take it on the floors in a year or so,” Ayesha says.
Does she intend to be a more regular fixture on the screen hereon? “I will be open to anything nice. A lot of people have approached me in the past for TV but I’m not open to that, yet, as it’s a very different medium,” she signs off.
Ayesha, who will play Utkarsh’s love interest Ishita Chauhan’s mother in the film, reveals that it was Anil who persuaded her to return to acting. “I was not really prepared to work again, but Anil ji was really insistent. My character is a classy, elegant and an independent woman who is also a liberal mother and has a friendly relationship with her daughter. It’s not the typical, conventional mother, which is what made me say ‘yes’ to it,” the actress says, admitting that she was a little nervous ahead of a photo shoot for the film but is now all set to start filming on December 8. “The best part is that I am working with people I know; my entire staff is back with me, so is designer Shaahid Amir and Anil ji, of course, who I have known for years. It’s like a homecoming for me.”
When asked if she had missed all the action during her time away, Ayesha says that she was too busy with married life. “I have really enjoyed the time I have spent in the industry. Offers from television and web series kept coming in all along but I was not open to it then. I also suffered a slipped disc and was travelling a lot. My husband, Sameer (Vashi), sister, and secretary had been waiting for me to take up an offer for years now. I will do something that interests me but don’t want to get into the rat race,” she asserts.
The actress also shares that she had no reservations about taking up the role of a mother. “I have enjoyed my time as a leading lady. One has to grow with age and accept things the way they are. I have done good work and now there is a chance for the little kids to start doing it,” she reasons, adding the she has been in touch with her colleagues, including Jackie Shroff, Neelam, Govinda and Bhagyashree and even met her Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar team at a reunion recently at Farah Khan’s residence. Farah had debuted as a choreographer with the sports-drama. “It was lovely meeting Mansoor after so many years. Sajid (Khan) who was also there was like ‘What are you doing? Why aren’t you working?’. We spent five-six hours together and had a great time.”
Next up, there are plans to venture into filmmaking. “My husband and I will be jointly directing a love story with consumerism as the backdrop. We should be able to take it on the floors in a year or so,” Ayesha says.
Does she intend to be a more regular fixture on the screen hereon? “I will be open to anything nice. A lot of people have approached me in the past for TV but I’m not open to that, yet, as it’s a very different medium,” she signs off.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)