Ayesha Kapur admits that this film is far more challenging than Black

Ayesha prefers Hollywood over Bollywood
Times of India - New Delhi, India 6 Mar 2009, 1233 hrs IST, PIALI DASGUPTA
Ayesha Kapur is happy to return to films with ‘Sikandar’, but still wants to be a normal girl.
If Black catapulted her to child prodigy status, Sikandar will certainly establish her as a gifted young actor...

Growing up on a staple of Hollywood films, Ayesha admits she hasn’t had much exposure to Bollywood flicks. “English is my mother tongue. I love being in Bollywood but would be more comfortable in Hollywood. I watch the films of some of my co-stars, though. For instance, I watched My Brother Nikhil with mom and cried buckets. Later I told Sanjay Suri, who plays my father in Sikandar, about it.”

The little girl dreams big. “I want to study in the US and get admission into an art school because I like to write and draw,” she smiles. But presently, she loves being an eighth standard student of Auroville in Puducherry. “I guess I’m different from a city-bred girl because I’ve grown up in Puducherry — in a completely different environment. I’m glad I’m here. A lot of child stars in Mumbai are deprived of a normal childhood. They get engaged in the whole masala of Bollywood. But I can go out with my friends for dinner. People recognise me as Ayesha and not the girl from Black. As much as I enjoy the attention, I’d like to stay here for some time,” maintains Ayesha.

Her mature demeanour betrays her age. “It’s probably got something to do with my upbringing. I travel a lot, which is important. You can learn only certain things in school. But travelling opens you up to varied cultures. I’ve been to Egypt, Africa, USA, Bali, Bangkok and Germany, where my grandparents live,” says the half-German, half-Punjabi girl.