Yogic serenity

Mona

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Zoa Morani is a sprightly young actress, due to hit the screens as Tanya in the upcoming film Bhaag Johnny. She will be seen in theatres four years after a debut in Always Kabhi Kabhi. Zoa has enjoyed doing theatre and commercials in this gap and been practicing the love of her life — Ashtanga yoga.

Bhaag Johnny is quite a change from her first film in which she played a school student. “It is an action thriller in which I play a working girl in Thailand,” she shares. Paired opposite Kunal Khemu, the story has the duo caught in a trying situation. Zoa, who labels her co-star as ‘a walking talking acting school’, adds, “Kunal is very intense as an actor. He has been working right from his childhood and I learnt so much from him on the sets.”

Four years is a long gap for starters in the competitive world of films, but that doesn’t bother Zoa who has enriched the artiste in her. She would accompany Ali Fazal, her co-star in Always Kabhi Kabhi at Prithvi Theatre, but thought she didn’t have it in her to take on the stage. “Ali would always say that theatre is addictive. I now know what he meant,” says the artiste, who has worked with Gulzar in Panchhatantra. Taj Mahal Ka Udghatan is a comedy that she is now part of. “In a live performance, the audience becomes as much a part of the spectacle as the actors. We have got a fabulous response so far. I am looking forward to performing in Dubai next.”

What do you consider before taking up a project? “It is the story all the way for me,” declares Zoa, who scored 95 per cent in literature through her school days. “I understand choosing stars over the plot, but for me it’s the narrative that would always have the priority over anything else. If I feel I can lend something to the written character, I am in.”

And what difference does it make to be Karim Murani’s daughter in the glamour world? “Well, it means everyone is just a phone call away but that can only get me an interview with Bollywood biggies. Whether they sign me on or not is totally dependent on my talent and the hard work I am ready to put into the project.”

Zoa is enjoying being an actor and to keep fit, she swears by Ashtanga yoga. “There are many types of yoga doing the rounds today, but these are largely different versions of the age-old tradition.” Suveer Balvi’s student, this actress is all for practicing yoga in its true form. “Being in Ashtanga yoga class is magical. Yoga is a total solution for a healthy mind, body and soul.”

(Bhaag Johnny hits the screens on September 25)