Former stylist Ayesha Khanna will debut opposite Harman Baweja in Dishkiyaoon. She talks to Karan Bhardwaj about her transformation from a shy to camera-loving girl
Fortune turns overnight. Ask Ayesha Khanna, a stylist-turned actor about it. When she was busy thinking how the lady-protagonist of Dishkiyaoon would look like on screen the producer of the film, Shilpa Shetty and director Sanamjit Singh Talwar, were pondering about casting Khanna opposite Harman Baweja. “The production was just one month away and they were not able find the actress. There were several auditions but nobody could impress them. During a meeting, Shilpa suddenly pointed out at me and said ‘Ayehsha looks pretty. Why don’t you auditionIJ’ I was amazed and next day, I was selected after the screen test,” Ayesha tells us in a thrilling tone. The Delhi girl is fashion enthusiast and studied at NIFT. After studying, she came to Mumbai and joined Yash Raj Films as a stylist.
She assisted Niharika Khan in Band Baaja Baaraat and later moved to Shilpa Shetty’s company. “like any moviegoer, I also had a desire to appear on screen. But I was never desperate to become an actor. I was more passionate about fashion, so I studied it and even took it up as a career. Acting just came like a shock,” she says.
Since the shooting was to begin within a month, Ayesha couldn’t undertake any acting classes. “The director prepared me. I would sit with him, rehearse and perform. I remember my first scene where I was exposed to hundreds of people. It was like a concert and I had to play the guitar. Being a shy person, it was an uphill task for me to face people and camera. But the director asked me to assume I was sitting alone in the room. I did it sportingly and the camera-phobia just fizzled out,” she recalls.
Baweja plays a gangster in the film. “My character Meera has a disturbed childhood. She is a musician. Harman too has a similar kind of childhood and that’s the reason why I fall in love with him despite knowing his business of blood and gore. Both of them have to face dire consequences because of Harman’s criminal activities,” she informs.
Since acting has come into her way, she plans to give fashion a break.
“I want to make best of this opportunity. I know there are so many girls out there who dream to have this kind of launch pad. Since nothing has been offered post Dishkiyaoon, I am waiting for its release. Shilpa texted me saying that she made the best decision to cast me. My parents and friends are also excited about the debut,” she said.
Though Ayesha has not drawn any roadmap for career, she hopes to work with directors like Imtiaz Ali and actors Ranbir Kapoor and Shah Rukh Khan.