Ayesha Jhulka is an Indian film and theatre actress and businesswoman. She was born in Srinagar, Kashmir, on July 28, 1972 to Inder and Sneh Jhulka. Her early childhood was spent in a number of different locations as a result of her father’s air-force background and frequent postings, before her family settled down in Delhi for some years. Jhulka soon moved again, this time to Mumbai, and began her career as an actress at a young age in the film Kaise Kaise Log (1983.) In the following years, she appeared in a number of Telugu as well as Punjabi films, while making her mark in the Hindi film industry. She acted in several popular films, and earned herself plenty of recognition for her roles in movies like Meet Mere Man Ke (1991), Kurbaan (1991), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992) – which was perhaps her most memorable work in cinema – Khiladi (1992), Masoom (1996) and Kahani Kismat Ki (1999). Jhulka also dabbled in theatre, making her stage debut in 2000 in a production called Purush – co-starring and produced by Nana Patekar – for which she also worked as the publicity coordinator on its showcases across the country.

She made fewer appearances on screen and became less prominent towards the late 90s and 2000s, where she was seen in a handful of supporting roles in films like Run (2004), Socha Na Tha (2005) Umrao Jaan (2006) and Ada… A Way of Life (2010.)

Though Jhulka chose to shift her focus away from films at the peak of her career, she frequently returns to work on projects with her friends. She most recently appeared in Jagdish Sidana’s Dil Bhi Khaali Jeb Bhi Khaali (2014.)

Jhulka looks back on her early film career as “a beautiful growing up experience. I joined when I was very young and it’s something I’ll cherish throughout my life.” With over 50 films that she has performed in, her current focus is on her businesses – a construction company called SamRock where she works with her husband Sameer Vashi, her own spa business called Anantaa, and a clothing line called Additions.