Living In The Now

Ambitious soul, practical mind, and always putting her best foot forward. From commercials to the silver screen, she has taken the world by storm with a hint of her own nawabi style.

- NEHA

This beauty is all ready to tackle the beast. From theatre to television, to film industry, Aahana Kumra has already broken every boundary. Be it playing a bold beautician or a youth leader, whatever role it is, she makes it her own. In this exclusive interview, she talks about her journey so far, her emergence as an actor, her cult fitness style, and what drives her to do better in every character that she portrays. Edited excerpts follow.

From Mai to The Accidental Prime Minister. Tell us about your journey in the world of acting?

My journey of acting started way before Mai, I was doing theatre and on stage plays. At the age of 14, I realised acting is my true calling, and joined Prithvi Theatre for an acting workshop. The place introduced me to the world of theatre, art, and stage, and I completely immersed myself into it. I got a formal education in acting from Whistling Woods for two years. After that, I started assisting Shanoo Sharma on My Name Is Khan. It was an internship that turned into a job, and then before I knew it, I was offered Yudh, followed by a film called The Blueberry Hunt.

My first commercial success was Lipstick Under My Burkha, and soon it was followed by The Accidental Prime Minister. I did some successful web series like Official Chukyagiri and Inside Edge. So, it has been a fantastic journey and thankfully I never had to really beg in front of anybody for work.

Being a Lucknow girl, you entered in a dazzling but a completely different world of Bollywood. What inspired you to become an actor in the first place?