Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; May 10, 2020)

Yesterday, producer Karim Morani’s daughter Zoa Morani visited Nair Hospital in Mumbai to donate her blood for plasma therapy trials for COVID-19 treatment. She said, “I was informed that after a COVID-19 positive patient recovers, he or she could donate blood for plasma trials.” Zoa has recently recovered from coronavirus along with her father Karim Morani and sister Shaza Morani.

Zoa added, “The team of doctors at the hospital asked me to spread the word as much as I could, so that, others who have recovered from Coronavirus would also come forward to donate their blood.” On her social media handle, she wrote, “All #Covid19 recovered people can be a part of this trial, to help others covid patients recover (sic).” She also shared that her blood donation was acknowledged with a certificate along with Rs 500 by the hospital.

Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; April 11, 2020)

On Monday evening, actress Zoa Morani revealed to BT, “Yes, I have tested positive, and I have been moved to the Coronavirus positive patient’s isolation ICU.” Two days later, even her father, producer Karim Morani, tested positive for the virus. It has been a stressful time for the family and to divert her mind, the actress has been watching movies, doing yoga and chatting with her family — of course, all within the confines of her hospital room.

Talking about her days in quarantine, she says, “It’s so strange… in the last few years of my life, I had become quite a loner. I wasn’t meeting too many friends; I wasn’t going out much and preferred staying at home. Ever since the lockdown was announced, I’ve been feeling the urge to socialise. Such is life! When I was in isolation with my sister (Shaza) at home, I was quite sick. So, to divert my mind, I was enjoying all the jokes and forwards that my family was sending out. I also began calling my old friends and making new friends on social media. I surprised myself. The self-quarantine period made me the exact opposite of what I was — a loner.”

She adds, “From those days of being isolated at home, to now being confined to a hospital room all by myself — it feels just the venue has changed. Now, it seems that life has become like a drama where things keep unfolding one after the other. In the hospital, half of my day goes into absorbing these new situations, and the other half, I rest it out. My daily routine in the hospital begins at 6 am. I wake up, freshen up and do pranayam. I also do a few exercises suggested by my doctor. The workout is followed by chai, and let me tell you, the hospital chai is really good. Then, I get on the phone with my family and we check on each other’s health. Apart from binge-watching movies, web shows, and all the yapping, what keeps me going is my exercise. Watching the doctors walking around in their spacesuits (the protective gear) makes me wonder… Am I on the moon? I must say, this is quite an experience, and I think I was meant to go through this.”

With sister undergoing COVID-19 treatment, Zoa Morani, who is kept in isolation, discusses how they were home-quarantined after respective trips; says she showed 'all symptoms' but tested negative
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 7, 2020)

"I am approaching this one step at a time," says actor Zoa Morani, who is awaiting the result of her second test for COVID-19 at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital. The actor and sister Shaza were admitted to the Andheri hospital late Sunday night. After the first round of test, Shaza, who tested positive, was promptly taken to Nanavati Hospital for treatment.

While her sister had a recent history of international travel, Zoa reveals that she was shooting in Rajasthan till early March. "My sister had travelled to Sri Lanka in late February with her friends. Once we were back in Mumbai, she and I self-quarantined ourselves for 14 days. We didn't meet our parents," she says. The two decided to head for a test when Zoa showed most symptoms, including dry cough and fever. "The doctors were prompt and quickly took a swab test. Shaza showed no symptoms, and yet, she tested positive. I have all the symptoms, and my first test has come negative. So, I have been put in an isolation ward along with other suspected cases."

Keeping herself emotionally strong during these trying times, Zoa — the elder daughter of Bollywood producer Karim Morani — says it is important to get rid of the paranoia surrounding the crisis. "There's so much paranoia even about taking the test. I have grown up in a family of doctors, so I am approaching this logically. We took all the necessary precautions and followed protocol. Considering Shaza has no symptoms, I am assuming I was the carrier. If I get tested positive, I would want to be around her in Nanavati."

Contact Tracing In Juhu
Though the sisters practised self-quarantine, the lane close to the Morani house in Juhu has been sealed as per protocol. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation officials have reached out to the few who came in contact with them, including their family doctor who had visited them on March 20 and prescribed medication to Zoa for what was then diagnosed as flu. Their domestic staff has been asked to self-quarantine and monitor symptoms if any.
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Zoa Morani; Anmol Thakeria; Jhataleka Malhotra

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 3, 2018)

Zoa Morani who was last seen in Bhaag Johnny in 2015, is making a comeback with Poonam Dhillon’s son, Anmol Thakeria’s debut film, Tuesdays and Fridays.

Mirror had earlier reported (August 4) former Miss India international (2014), Jhataleka Malhotra plays the female lead and the film’s team has been shooting for the film in and around London. The film is produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bhushan Kumar and directed by debutant Taranveer Singh.

A source from the sets reveals, “Zoa recently joined the cast and plays an NRI settled in London. The team has completed a month-long shoot in the Queen’s City and will kickstart the Mumbai schedule shortly. Zoa won’t be a part of it.”

The film also has two other actors as part of main cast — Reem Sheikh as Tanya and Ibrahim Chaudhary is Shawan. Anmol’s character is called Varun, while Jhataleka plays Sia. The film is a mix of romance and action and had kicked off in August with the actors shooting at Pitch Stratford, an open-air theatre. They also shot for a song choreographed by Kruti Mahesh that will be the introductory track for the four actors.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 26, 2016)

Varun Dhawan, who has been wary of acknowledging long-time girlfriend, designer Natasha Dalal, was clicked with his lady love at childhood buddy Ankit Kedia's three-day wedding ceremony at a luxury hotel in Goa. The couple had taken off from Mumbai on Tuesday morning.

The two were earlier spotted, hand-in-hand, at Anil Kapoor's 59th birthday bash (Mirror, December 24) in Juhu, driving in with Varun's parents, David and Karuna.

This time, while the couple steered clear of the paparazzi, actress-friend Zoa Morani 'outed' them online.

She described the celebration as "that moment when you meet childhood friends after long and give them retarded love stares reminiscing (about) the past". Earlier, Varun had rung in the New Year with the same set of friends in Barcelona with the party doubling up as a bachelor's bash for Ankit.

"Along with his friends, Varun danced to "Saturday Saturday" and "Lucky Tu Lucky Me", two hits from Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, amongst other songs. The wedding was an extravagant affair, with palms, elephants and the balmy sea breeze. Varun stayed away from the banquet since he had to shoot in two days and was careful to not catch a tan," reveals a guest.

He also made it a point to hit the gym at the venue after partying each night, to stay in shape for his forthcoming shoots.

The actor however was unable to attend the final wedding ceremony, and returned with Natasha to Mumbai on Thursday. He was "bummed" to miss the occasion and got emotional on the plane as well.

The same evening, he flew off to Abu Dhabi for a 40-day schedule of his brother Rohit Dhawan's action thriller, Dishoom, where he is currently filming with John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri and Saqib Saleem.

DNA (September 16, 2015)


Zoa Morani, whose next release is Bhaag Johnny, is a fitness freak. She practises yoga, but guess who is her teacher? It’s none other than Akshay Kumar’s cousin Suveer Balvi. Says Zoa, “I have been learning Ashtanga Yoga from Suveer sir for the last couple of years and I feel it has improved me as an actor and heightened my perception of life. Yoga benefits us internally and externally. We go through 40 diets and work out regimes, but life becomes much simpler with yoga. Suveer sir is a yoga therapist, who has earlier done martial arts. At some point, I would love to learn martial arts from him too.” So now we know where Akshay gets his inspiration from!

Zoa Morani after the failure of her debut film Always Kabhi Kabhi is gearing up for her next release Bhaag Johnny
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; August 6, 2015)


You made your debut four years ago, but have been missing since then...
I had a dream debut with Shah Rukh Khan (close friend of her father) producing my film Always Kabhi Kabhi. However, the film didn’t do well, so I had to start from scratch. I started doing theatre. For the past couple of years I have been busy staging plays like Panchatantra written by Gulzar and Taj Mahal Ka Udghatan. I also took up Asthang Yoga, which is spiritual yoga. It helped me get over my dark phase. If not for that I wouldn’t have managed to pull it off.

What happened to the film you were to do with Shyam Benegal?
Something weird happened with that. At that time I was shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi and in between I gave an audition for a film that was to be directed by Shyam Benegal. It went well and Benegal said he liked it. I had acted like a Haryanvi girl and Benegal was impressed that despite being a Mumbai girl, I had done so well. After that I got a call from the producer who first told me I was shortlisted and later that I got the film. Later, I heard that Benegal hadn’t given a go-ahead. Till date, I don’t know what the truth is!

Now that your second film is up for release, you must be banking on it.
The film has shaped out really well. It’s an action thriller and is about two people running parallel lives. But it’s not a double role. When I heard the story, I knew it was a complicated and tough role. It is all about karma and how a right and wrong decision has its own repercussions. It is so different from my debut film in which I played a school girl. Here there are a lot of intense scenes and action, it’s a mature role. I must say my director Shivam Nair and co-star Kunal Kemmu helped me a lot. I am looking forward to the response to this film.