On a new curve

Ayesha Takia

Ayesha Takia talks about ‘Mod’ and her business plans

She’s been in front of the camera since she was four (the original ‘I am a Complan girl’) and signed her first film as a heroine when she was 15. Ayesha Takia was always cast in chirpy, predictable roles until Dor came by. Just when she was expected to do add more variety into her portfolio, Ayesha Takia tied the knot with longtime friend Farhan Azmi and took a break from movies. “I had started acting as a child. Acting is a way of life for me. But I really enjoyed the break. I spent two years travelling and learning the ropes of business with my husband. I am a hands-on business woman with Farhan’s restaurants in Mumbai and we are planning to start a boutique hotel in Goa. When I returned to shoot, it didn’t feel like I had been away for two years,” she says.

It took an unpredictable love story penned by Nagesh Kukunoor (adapted from the Taiwanese film Keeping Watch) to pull her out of her sabbatical. “I can never say no to Nagesh for he had given me Dor. Socha Na ThaMod is my third film with Nagesh after Dor and 8X10 Tasveer. Whenever it is from Nagesh, it is always a yes from me. He is my rakhi brother and knows how to get the best performance from me. Beyond that, I like the fact that he always writes powerful characters for women,” she says.

Mod, set in a quaint little fictitious town, was shot in Ooty, Kothagiri and Coonoor. “The setting was perfect. I hate shooting in the heat and loved shooting in the hills. Ooty has lovely people and the food was phenomenal,” she gushes. Unlike Dor that was set in interiors of Rajasthan, Mod is contemporary, she says. “For Dor, I tried to understand the way of life of the Rajasthani women, their clothes, culture… I had to play a child bride who then became a widow. My character in Mod is something most women can relate to. It’s not a melodramatic film like Dor,” she says.

Her diary is free post Mod, which releases this Friday. “Unless I really like a script or the unit, I don’t feel the need to act. I’ve been in this field for 11 years and it’s time to learn new things. I am growing as a businesswoman,” she says. Talking of business plans, Hyderabad is on her mind too. “Eventually we’d like to start something in Hyderabad, since the food industry here is not new to both me and Farhan. I have fond memories of shooting here (Telugu film Super with Nagarjuna).”