Ayesha Jhulka was one of the most popular Bollywood faces in
the 90s. Starring in films like ‘Khiladi’, ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar’ and ‘Waqt
Hamara Hai’ as the female lead with actors who are still plying lead roles, she
left her Bollywood after marriage in 2003. She disappeared from the scene but
her busy life didn’t give her a chance to get back to the hectic film industry.
A regular visitor to Goa, Ayesha was recently in Goa to
celebrate her only sister, Aparna’s birthday. A huge family reunion with her
cousins is what she was waiting for post Covid. “I have a boutique resort here
in Goa so I come at least once in 2-3 months. I came down to Goa to celebrate
my sister’s birthday and it was a great occasion to meet up with all my cousins
who also came to Goa. We didn’t have a family reunion since Covid-19 pandemic,”
says Ayesha.
Ayesha returned to the small screen with a new web series on
Amazon, ‘Hush Hush’ which was released in September and stars Kritika Kamra,
Shahana Goswami, Karishma Tanna, Juhi Chawla and Soha Ali Khan. She plays the
role of Juhi Chawla’s younger sister, Meera in the series. “All the series that
I have worked for are big casts. ‘Hush Hush’ was about various complexities of
different women, how they face challenges in life, identity crisis and how
things move on in life. Sometimes, they are subjected to situations where they
are caught up with unforeseen circumstances. My role was a complex character,
very deep and emotional yet made to do things she doesn’t want to do. It was
very different from the roles I have portrayed. A lot of people loved the
character because it had a lot of angles and multiple layers of performance
required. It shows how Meera copes with various situations thrown in her life.
It was one story weaved into different episodes,” explains Ayesha.
What are her upcoming projects? “I have completed shoots for
one series on Endemol and one more on Amazon. I started working on ‘Hush Hush’
before Covid-19 and then there was a halt and we got back to shooting. The
other two series are now in post-production. All three shows are big cast and
different genres. They will be announced most probably in March or April by
Amazon and Endemol too will announce the show.”
She further adds, “The show on Amazon is a light show that
has got the emotions of a family and a light hearted way of showing things. The
show on Endemol is much deeper and darker and not with the urban life. It is
from the core of how people wake up and what problems they are facing are.”
Speaking about the shift from films to web series, she says,
“It’s very interesting to do these web series because here you can get the
performance out and I think it is a very welcome change for actors like us who
want to do good work and performance oriented work. It’s lovely that people
want to see you and you get to do something nice and different.”
The show received good review and especially Ayesha was
singled out as one of the best performances. “I was getting very good reactions
and I was overwhelmed that people are looking forward to seeing me which was
quite a welcome change. It was not what I was expecting when you think that you
are forgotten but fortunately, people don’t forget that easily. It’s very
interesting and nice to know that are you are wanted and people want to see you
again. It is all the work you do in the past that you get still remembered,”
she shares
Even though on a break from the film industry, Ayesha had a
lot on her hands. Spare A Moment, an Ayesha Julka Foundation is a
Lonavala-based non-profit that takes care of stray dogs in the hill station.
“My complete break was also very busy. I was doing various things, living a
civilian’s life, traveling a lot, handling businesses and giving a lot of time
to pets. I am doing a lot of work for stray dogs. There is a kitchen set up in
Lonavala where I have a foundation called Spare A Moment and we do a lot of
work for strays in that city and I am also the brand ambassador of Lonavala so
it just doubles up. I was the first who created designated feeding points for
strays in the city in India and this was the first city where this concept was
created. This has kept me busy as well as family always keeps you busy. I was
leading a normal but busy life,” she says.
Over the years, Ayesha has been getting a lot of offers for
films and television but they didn’t inspire her to take them up more
seriously. She explains what made her say yes to ‘Hush Hush,’ “When Tanuja
Chandra contacted me and said this is the series and this is your role and I
can’t think of anyone else, she really convinced me and I said fine, I’d like
to experiment this and I am glad I did.”
The vast Hindi film industry is an ocean of filmmakers and
actors and it is very difficult to stay in the limelight all the time.
Fortunately for Ayesha, she never faced any difference in the way her friends
in the industry treated her. “We bump into them in Mumbai and connect from
wherever we left. It is not an easy life in Mumbai to give time. I feel that
whenever I met anybody from the industry, I got the same love, affection and
respect from everyone. You grow with time and times change and people move on
but at least the people I have been connected with, I don’t see any changes.
Our industry is like a family and we are always there for each other,”
concludes Ayesha.