For a star kid, who could probably have had the best launchpad for herself in Bollywood, Esha chose to debut in 2002 opposite Aftab Shivdasani in Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe. Though the film bombed at the box office, she won the best debutante award.
After a row of five films, Esha finally arrived with JP Dutta’s LOC Kargil, where her acting was noticed despite the limited scope of performance in this male-centric, multi-starrer war movie. Following that, Esha shone bright in her first action-packed role in Yash Raj Films’ Dhoom (directed by Sanjay Gadhvi’s).
A mother of two beautiful daughters, Radhya and Miraya, Esha, who published her first book on motherhood, Amma Mia, in 2020, is back with Ek Duaa, directed by Ram Kamal Mukherjee. A journey of a mother and a daughter, the film addresses gender inequality through a well-scripted narrative and tight direction. It not only marks Esha’s comeback, but also introduces her as a producer.
This is your comeback film and also the first one from your production house. How excited are you?
I am really looking forward to all of you watching the film. I chose the film because it has a strong social message, cutting across age or gender. When it was narrated to me, it touched me at a deep level and somehow I felt that I would like to contribute more to it than just as an actor. I was already deliberating on starting my journey as a producer, and nothing could be better than this film to start with. It’s the journey of a mother and her love for her daughter but also subtly touches upon glaring gender inequalities that exist in our society, sadly.
How did you prepare for the role?
Being a mom, it added a lot of depth to play the character Abida. Any mom in any part of the world would
understand, feel and relate to the emotions of another mom. So, I could very well understand Abida and it felt as if I am organically going through her emotional journey. For the looks, I had a lot of ghee in my diet to get that glow.
Most of the movies are releasing on OTTs. How do you find this transition?
It’s a huge open field that gives actors the liberty to choose projects that they enjoy doing. I have already signed a web project, Rudra, opposite Ajay Devgn, who had been a fantastic co-star in many of my films and there are some other projects too that I will announce when things materialise.