‘Not sure if I’ll be full-time actor’

Mumbai, October 20

All of 16, “Secret Superstar” actress Zaira Wasim says she isn’t sure if she wants to be a full-time actress. After her “Dangal” act, Zaira has won a lot of appreciation for her role in her latest movie “Secret Superstar”, in which she is seen as an aspiring singer.

Zaira, who is from Kashmir, says she did not grow up watching Hindi films much and had no desire to become an actress.

“I still do not know if I am going to become an actress in future as a serious full-timer but every time I act, I try to deliver my best... Both films that I have done offer beautiful stories,” Zaira said. Both “Dangal” and “Secret Superstar” have one more person in common — superstar Aamir Khan. But Zaira’s performance was not overshadowed in any way.

Recalling her audition for “Dangal”, she said: “I did not go there with any expectation. I was just curious and wanted to explore what acting was and how they auditioned. I think I am one of the luckiest children who got such an opportunity. Also, working with AK (Aamir Khan) twice... I am blessed.” So how well does she handle her new celebrity status and recognition?

“Oh yes, I want to share this. My hair was cut for ‘Dangal’ and my look was different. So one day, a fellow came to me with a mobile phone saying, ‘Arrey bhaiya, aap woh Aamir Khan waali picture me the na? Ek photo le lein?’ I mean because of my short hair, that guy calls me brother? My first fan and he calls me bhaiya?”

However, she says, “People look at me with so much love and affection and appreciate me for my work! What could be more overwhelming than this?” Yet, the glamour and glitter of Bollywood and her newly-achieved celebrity status has not changed anything in Zaira. She says she’s an introvert who still finds it difficult to talk to mediapersons.

“Nothing has changed in me. I can spend the whole day in a room with some good food, and play with my cats. I have three cats — one is black, one white and a brown kitten. I love them.”

Zaira has travelled across the country with her parents, but her heart lies in Srinagar. She says she has always been a “good girl”. “But yes, I think now I trouble my mother a little. I am a little clumsy and a little lazy and my mother does not like that. I do not dress up and I’m always tripping and falling over things... A little messy, you know,” she says, breaking into innocent laughter. —IANS