This has been an important week for Aahana Kumra. Two days back, she celebrated her birthday and today, her new film ‘Yours Truly’ premieres on a digital streaming platform.
Any special birthday wish with this year?
There is no wish as such but there is a plan to do a lot more work. Every year, I manage to travel out of Mumbai during my birthday but this year, I have had no time to even take a day off as I am working round the clock. I feel blessed to be getting such wonderful work to do. This is what I have strived for all these years.
You grew up in Lucknow. Celebrating your birthday in Mumbai must be quite different from kind of festivities you must have had in your hometown.
Yes, birthday parties in Lucknow meant small gatherings where my friends from the colony would come to my house and we would have a small celebration together. In Mumbai, on my birthdays, I like to visit Prithvi Theatre and celebrate it there. I like to do a play on my birthday. Later in the day, I throw a small party for some of my close friends.
An actor told me recently that films should only be released in theatres and on digital platforms. ‘Yours Truly’ is releasing on a streaming platform and not in theatres. How do you feel about this?
I am very happy with the digital release of the film. It will help the film reach out to a wide audience across 190 countries. The film is made on a universal subject. It is about a woman dealing with loneliness. When it was screened at a festival in in Bhusan, a lot of women from Korea came to us and told us they could relate to the subject. I think medium does not really matter. How many actors are getting work in films? Because of web, so many people are getting work. We do not have to do regressive shows on television to pay our bills anymore.
You recently shot for a web show called ‘Marzi’ with Rajeev Khandelwal.
It was great working with Rajeev for the first time. Doing the show was quite an emotionally draining experience as it based on a very serious issue. Marzi means consent and this is a topic we have been discussing for a while and I am glad that a show has now been made on the same. I am looking forward to see how people receive the show.
What are you doing next?
There is a short film with Tanuj Virwani which will release soon. We shot for it a long time back and I am glad people will finally get to see it. I will soon start shooting for a web show for Zee 5 called ‘Bombers’. The show revolves around football and will be shot in Kolkata.