Ayesha Julka, who is still remembered for some of her cult films in Hindi cinema in the early 1990s, is set to make her OTT debut this year. Interestingly, she has as many as four projects lined up.
Talking about her OTT debut, Julka told Cinestaan.com in an exclusive conversation, “I would credit Tanuja Chandra for my coming to OTT because she is one director who was really persistant and wanted me to play this particular character in her series, Hush Hush. Her conviction and her faith in me and my work made me sign the project. I think it just came to me with luck.”
Julka was not really looking for work unless it was meaningful. She added, “I had decided I’m not going to work on any platform unless and until I get meat in my roles, because I want to do something which is meaningful after so many years and not something for the heck of it.
"So, last year I signed my first project and thought let me just see how it goes. But Abundantia Entertainment and Tanuja made me feel so good that I never felt I had left the industry. That experience made me sign my second, third and fourth OTT projects.”
The Khiladi (1992) actress will be seen alongside Juhi Chawla, Soha Ali Khan, Karishma Tanna, Shahana Goswami and Kritika Kamra in Tanuja Chandra's show. She will also be seen in a project called Happy Family Conditions Apply, which is a light-hearted comedy and also stars Atul Kulkarni, Ratna Pathak Shah and Raj Babbar.
All this was not planned. “I was never calculative about my career," Julka said. "But I always knew I needed something meaningful to come back. Right now the change is nice because really big film-makers and stars are on OTT. The content here is so much more meaningful. This year, hopefully, all my three projects will be out.”
With luck, as she put it, Ayesha Julka may be at the top of her game all over again.