If only nepotism could have applied in my case…: Aisha Ahmed

Actor, model and voice-over artiste Aisha Ahmed believes that it is always right to start early on. “Starting early in life is something that I decided after my high school boards. I came home from my boarding school after examinations and it was then my step father (filmmaker Faruk Kabir) asked me to take up some acting workshop or a short course,” she said.

She went for a month-long theatre workshop. “It was during the process I realised that I was naturally inclined towards acting and by then I figured it out that this what want to do. So, it was then, I started auditioning and simultaneously continued with acting workshops,” she said over the phone.

Born and brought in Mumbai, Aisha is daughter of actor Rukhsar Rehman who has worked in movies like ‘Sarkar’, ‘God Tussi Great Ho’, ‘PK’ and more. When asked being daughter of an actor did it help her to make it in Bollywood, she was quick to revert, “If only nepotism could have applied in my case, I would have been the happiest not running from pillar to post, auditioning and asking do I fit! My mother accompanied me for two auditions and then discreetly told me from here you have to find your path.”

She then I got to do some advertisements as a newbie. “It did help me to understand that it’s not going to be easy. Then, I become assistant casting director and learnt the technicalities involved in film making. My mother told me the same, I still see her auditioning for films and it did boost my morale that that’s the way life is. I remember I got a big brand ad and had to go to Bangkok but the shoot was coinciding with my board examinations. I was in a fix and it was then my mother said that I have to solely make this decision as it was my life and nobody will share the outcome of it.”

The pretty lass shot to fame with her role of Nikhat Rizvi, in web series ‘Adulting’. “I shot for my first feature film ‘3 Storeys’ when I was 19 but it took over a year to release. I was disheartened as it appeared that my struggle was still on and this career choice is not going to be easy. It was then that I got offer for sketches (small videos) for YouTube and then my web journey started. ‘Adulting’ made me a known face and this followed with second season and other projects like ‘Minus One,’ ‘World of MG: Homecoming,’ short films ‘Chhaju Ke Dahi Bhalle,’ ‘Zindagi in Short,’ and more. In lockdown too I shot for several teasers back at home as that’s the way to work as of now,” said Aisha who took a webinar session in Lucknow, recently.