Aahana Kumra channels her inner tourist
Aahana Kumra was recently in Uzbekistan for her upcoming project, Khuda Hafiz. The actor, who was in the city of Khiva, training for action sequences, says that she fell in love with the country and its people. “I love everything about Uzbekistan except the travel because they don’t have frequent flights,” she says with a laugh, adding, “Uzbekistan is gorgeous. And their food is fantastic.”
She says that the Uzbeks are very fond of Indian cinema. “Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and Mithun Chakraborty are probably the greatest stars there. People even in the remotest parts of the country know Shah Rukh Khan and his songs. I’m completely blown away by how much they know about us!” the Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017) actor shares.
The 34-year-old adds, “The people there are very hospitable. I’ve had tried picking up their language and temperament. And I realised that they’re not very different from us. They would tell us stories about their weddings which would leave me awe-struck.”
Ask her about the most memorable trip that she took in the country and she shares, “I loved Samarkand though getting tickets was difficult. I was there for a day. I took an express train in the morning and I came back at around five in the evening. I wish I could’ve done an overnight trip. The landscape was beautiful and the food was great. I walked on the Silk Route too.”
Aahana jests that she can organise tours in Uzbekistan after spending some quality time there. “My father has worked in Moscow and other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries all his life. He’s in pharmaceuticals and he had a lot of friends in Tashkent. I was constantly taken out for drives and to restaurants by them. I spent a lot of time in clubs. I’ve explored Tashkent so much that I feel like I can become a tourist guide now,” Aahana signs off with a laugh.