Satyameva Jayate actress Aisha Sharma on her character Shikha: Not just a pretty face; she's a social crusader

In 2016, soon after Aisha Sharma posed for the Kingfisher Calendar, she was on the brink of making her debut in Telugu cinema. However, destiny had other plans for her. The roles went to other actresses, and Aisha continued to wait for the right project to begin her acting career. Remind her about the Telugu films which could have marked her foray into acting, she grins saying, “Well, what can I say! Maybe it was meant to happen and I have moved on in life. To be honest, my goal was always to be part of Bollywood. Hindi is my mother tongue and any actor will be more comfortable to act in a language he or she is familiar with.” The model-turned-actress will soon make her debut in Milap Zaveri’s Satyameva Jayate , which also stars John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee . The film, which is slated for release on 15 August, has been produced by Nikkhil Advani and Bhushan Kumar. “It’s a great relief to be part of a project that has been shot and ready for release so quickly. It doesn’t happen that often,” she says. [caption id=“attachment_4963571” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Aisha Sharma. Image via Twitter[/caption] Last November, she auditioned for the film, which she says is a dark action thriller, and two months later, she was called for further script readings. “I wish there was a dramatic story behind how I got a chance to be part of this film (laughs). The only thing I did soon after I auditioned was go on a long vacation and I didn’t know whether I got the role or not until much later,” she recalls. In the film, the actress plays a vet, Shikha, who stands up for a cause. “It’s a high octane action thriller, but my romantic track with John is quite breezy and light. Shikha isn’t just another pretty face in the film. She is a social crusader, has a mind of her own, and she wants to do something good for the society. Besides, I love animals in real life too. I love my dog, Joy, so much that I have got her name tattooed on my hand.” Prior to signing this film, Aisha had been modelling for quite sometime and was the brand ambassador for Campus Shoes, along with Varun Dhawan. Except for a music video in which she appeared alongside Ayushmann Khurrana, Aisha’s appearances in front of the camera have been rather minimal in the past couple of years. “I’ve always wanted to be in films and I realised that I enjoyed it more than still photography. And I didn’t want to be part of everything that came my way in the past couple of years which explains why I didn’t appear in ads, music videos, or other content on digital media as much,” she says, adding, “The challenging part of the whole journey is learning to say ‘no’ because you don’t know how any given project will turn out in the end. I got plenty of time to work on myself in terms of improving my diction, fitness, etc.” Admittedly, the actress is quite thrilled about having collaborated with John Abraham in her debut film. “I hadn’t met him before I came on board, but I must say that he’s the easiest co-star to work with. John has an innate ability to make everyone feel comfortable. He has absolutely no airs about himself,” Aisha says, adding, “The bigger surprise was watching Manoj Bajpayee have a blast on the sets. Since he does serious roles, you might end up thinking that he’s like that in real life too, but he was the complete opposite. He’s so damn funny.” [caption id=“attachment_4963591” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] John Abraham (L) and Aisha Sharma in Satyameva Jayate. Image via Twitter[/caption] Ask her if she had any second thoughts about choosing a dark thriller for her debut film, and pat comes the reply, “You don’t choose your first film, the film chooses you. This is the moment that I have been waiting for a long time. There are no second chances in this industry and I had to be really careful while choosing my debut film, and more importantly, team up with people who are quite passionate about their work. I must thank Nikkhil Advani for making the whole process quite easy for me. He was quite hands-on involved with the production and he never made me feel like it was my debut film. All the boxes were ticked when it came to Satyameva Jayate. It makes a lot of difference when you work with people who have faith in you.” Back home, Aisha’s elder sister, Neha Sharma, who acted in films like Tum Bin 2, Crook, Kya Super Kool Hai Hum, and Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, is delighted to see Aisha foray into films.  “She’s fiercely protective about me (laughs). But the only thing she advised me was, ‘Don’t let success go to your head, nor let failure go to your heart.’ She just wants me to work hard and make a good impression,” Aisha says. While her acting career is just taking off, Aisha has already made heads turn on social media, thanks to her Instagram profile. “I love travelling and it’ll always be my first love. In fact, I just got back from a trip to Mauritius. And I share a lot of pictures from my trips. And whatever I post on my page is an extension of who I am. I had no idea that so many people would be interested in that without knowing me or seeing my work. Now, I really hope people like my work in films too,” Aisha signs off.