Why Ayesha Jhulka Stepped Away From Films

'I've not been doing much work because I was not getting the kind of roles I want to do.'

Aamir Khan's 60th birthday had us flashbacking to many of his earlier films, among them the coming-of-age sports drama Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar.

We caught up with Ayesha Jhulka, who played Anjali, the girl-next-door with a secret crush on Aamir's Sanjay.

Three decades have passed since, and Ayesha hasn't changed much.

She's still the desi girl who, in the '90s, made not just Aamir but even Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty and Akshay Kumar's hearts beat faster.

At the turn of the century, she found her real-life Romeo and settled down.

Since then, the actress has been seen on screen only occasionally.

Speaking to Rediff.com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya, Ayesha says, "I was tired of the bubby roles and wanted to do something more meaningful, a shift that happens with every actress after a certain age."

Do people still walk up to you and talk about Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Anjali?

Oh yes, and along with Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Khiladi, Kurbaan, Dalaal and surprisingly, Balma too.

The songs of these films are still very popular which, I guess, is why they live on.

Also, some of the characters I played, like Anjali, have stayed on in people's minds.

(Laughs) Some tell me I still look the same which is sweet, but not really true because as you grow older, you grow up and your perspective of life changes.

How difficult was it for you to navigate the '90s when you were at the peak of your career?

Honestly, I was very young then and there was no premeditated plan that I followed which is how it happens now.

I just went with the flow. My career was shaped by my dedication and my performances.

At the turn of the century, you cut down on work. Was it because of marriage?

Yes, I did get married, but that wasn't the reason.

I was doing a mainstream romantic-action film called Run, produced by Boney Kapoor and Srideviji.

But there was a shift, both personal and professional.

I wanted time for myself and my family which I had been missing out on for almost 20 years because I was doing back-to-back films.

I wanted to do all the things I never had time for, like art and travel.

The film industry was going through a lot of changes with corporates coming in and not too many individual producers remaining in the race.  

I was tired of the bubby roles and wanted to do something more meaningful, a shift that happens with every actress after a certain age.

So I took a step back but I did not quit acting.

I was doing plays and films too, like Socha Na Tha, Umrao Jaan and Genius

Which roles have challenged you as an actor?

There was a film titled Amma in 2003 which marked editor Amitabh Shukla's directorial debut.

It did not do well in the theatres but got a lot of critical acclaim. It was nominated for the National Awards.

For me, it was interesting to experiment with a role which spanned from 20 to 60 years.

I had lived through my 20s, 30s and 40s but to play someone in her 60s was something new.

Of course, the make-up had to be different and lining my face with wrinkles felt strange and awkward, but on the whole, Amma was an enjoyable experience.

In 1997, there was a film called Vishwavidhaata with Sharad Kapoor playing father and son.

As Jai, he flees to Sharjah in a desperate bid to break away from the world of terrorism.

There he undergoes plastic surgery and returns to India as Jackie Shroff.

He remarries me, his own wife, and we have a son, Ravi, who is Sharad again.

The film didn't do well commercially but I enjoyed playing Radha who shows a lot of maturity and theraav (calm) even in difficult situations.

When these films didn't do well, was it disappointing and demotivating?

A film not doing well is not new. We have yet to discover the formula for a surefire hit.

As an actor, you just choose from the scripts that come your way and then give the character your best.

You have no control over how the film is made, how it shapes up and how it is marketed.

All these factors also have a role to play in its box office outcome.

I never look back. For me, it has always been about moving forward.

In 2004, you did a Telugu film Jai, followed by the Kannada film Jackpot and an Odia film Rakate Lekhichi Naa. Was it because regional cinema offered more scope to showcase your histrionics?

I've acted in Telugu, Kannada and Bengali films in the '90s too when I was doing Kurbaan, Khiladi and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar with Salman (Khan), Akshay (Kumar) and Aamir (Khan).

It was a trend to experiment with regional cinema then and there were a lot of offers from the South and Tollyguage.

I picked from what I got and, in comparison to my colleagues, I didn't take on that many films outside of Hindi cinema.

The idea was always to do something interesting irrespective of language.

Would you say OTT has helped actors evolve?

It has certainly given those like me a chance and the creative liberty to do something different.

I did Tanuja Chandra's Hush Hush in 2022.

It touches on taboo subjects like infertility, mental health, money laundering and child sex trafficking.

My character, Meera Yadav, runs an orphanage and a child sex racket.

I was apprehensive about whether I could pull off this character which was so different from my usual roles but with Tanuja by my side, believing in me, I enjoyed the challenge.

There was another series the following year -- JD Majethia and Aatish Kapadia's Happy Family: Conditions Apply, with Ratna Pathak Shah, Raj Babbar and Atul Kulkarni, which was more familiar zone.

It was in the running for four Filmfare OTT Awards, including Best Comedy Series.

Any recent projects you are looking forward to?

Dhanbad, an OTT series, whose shooting I have just completed.

I play a brutal village don which is again an unusual character for me, so the journey becomes more interesting.

I've not been doing much work because I was not getting the kind of roles I want to do.

It's okay to aspire to a higher level of human achievement instead of doing the same thing again and again.

The time is right now for good work but I aim for quality over quantity.

So, even though a lot of scripts are coming my way -- I just heard an interesting narration yesterday -- I will go by intuition and the pleasure of acting when picking and choosing projects.

I've done a lot of work early on in my career. Now, I want to work at my own pace, do roles that make me feel good from within and not because I want to oblige somebody or because I want to do anything just to keep myself occupied.

There are so many other things that also give me joy and I want to make time for them too.