Ayesha Kapur was barely 10 when she won viewers and critics over with her powerful performance as the young Michelle in Sanjay Leela Bhansali ’s Black. The actor is now making a comeback to the big screen after 17 years with Om Ka Hari, a new family drama. In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Ayesha talks about breaking the image of Michelle, doing diverse work, and how she has changed over the years.
Since then, she has appeared in only one film.
Om Ka Hari is Ayesha’s third film, and the first since the 2009 release, Sikandar. It earned a Filmfare Award at the age of 11. In the interim, she appeared in the Tamil web series Sweet Kaaram Coffee. I love acting and the whole process of developing the character, working with the team, and being on set. Acting was my first love, and will always be my first love. I just hope I get more chances to keep working, keep acting, and exploring. Black was her big break. Four years later, she starred alongside Parzan Dastur in Sikandar. That followed a long hiatus. “The break definitely allows people to see me as an adult in a film, separately from that girl from Black. Of course, people still remember that for some reason. It’s still in people’s hearts,” she adds. It also helps that her character in Om Ka Hari is very different from the roles she has done so far. “Here, I can showcase myself as an Indian girl from a small town and a middle-class family. It is very different from anything I have done before. Om Ka Hari, directed by Harish Vyas, also stars Anshuman Jha, Raghubir Yadav, and Soni Razdan. The film is currently running in theatres.
Talking about returning to the screen, she says, “It’s great to be acting again. “Yes, it’s been a long break,” the actor admits. But Ayesha says that the break gave her something positive, a chance to start fresh. I am excited to show a different side of me,” says the actor.
