entrepreneur and stylista Pernia Qureshi interview

‘Salman Khan is my dream actor to work with!’

entrepreneur and stylista Pernia Qureshi, who is now gearing up for a Bolly debut, talks about her new role

Pernia Qureshi is one of the celebrated names in the Indian fashion as she made luxury brands and labels more accessible to people through her online venture Pernia Pop-up Shop. She has styled Sonam Kapoor for Aisha and continues to be one of her best friends. Pernia is making her Bollywood debut this year with Imran Abbas Naqvi in Jaanisaar and she is really pumped up about the same! Here, she gives an insight on how she looks at fashion, what are her career goals and how she would deal with stardom. Read on for more... You are an entrepreneur, a stylist, a designer, a dancer and now an actor. What’s next on your bucket list? For now, it is complete focus on acting. I didn’t always know that I want to be any of the things that I am today; I just am open to new ideas as an artiste. I don’t like having free time. I was skeptical when the film was offered to me, but as a dancer I have been performing my whole life so I am used to emoting. My director told me that I already do this and the only thing needed is dialogue and camera. He assured me that I can act so I was like “Okay! Let me try this.” I didn’t realise that I’d have the time of my life, I haven’t enjoyed anything else this much in my career. How was it like to be on a film set? I have been on a film set for Aisha as I was styling Sonam for that. But we were like fat kids on the set. We were either eating or trying on clothes. I didn’t take it as a hardcore learning experience. As a live stage performer, I always thought performing live for an audience is the shit because you are under a lot of pressure and that gives me a big high. But somehow acting in front of a camera was the same as performing live for me. I was so upset when the film was wrapped! I was like “I want to shoot some more!” But Muzaffar Ali (director of Jaanisaar) added a scene later, we just shot it so I was really happy. You’d be speaking a lot of Urdu in the film... It wasn’t a problem because I am from UP; my father is from Rampur, my mother is from Pakistan. I grew up in a fully Urdu speaking house. I went to an American school but my mother had this really annoying rule when I came back home on vacation, that she would not speak or respond to me unless I don’t talk in Urdu. Her big worry was that I’ll lose my mother-tongue. The good thing that came out of this is that I can speak in Urdu. I had to work on my pronunciation and dialect for the film but the language wasn’t alien to me. Tell me about your co-star. Imran is tailor-made for this role. His character had to be extremely well-spoken, he had to have a certain vulnerability and innocence which boys these days hardly have! Actors don’t really have that quality these days because they think and know that they are great! Imran too has the airs of an actor because he is a huge star in Pakistan, but something about him is so sweet even in real life which translated onscreen. We became very good friends very quickly. He and Fawad Khan debuted almost around the same time but he didn’t make an impact. I feel by the time our movie comes out people will think that it’s Imran’s debut. In Creature 3D his role wasn’t that big so even in the promotions, he wasn’t around or promoted. Fawad had an equal part to Sonam in Khoobsurat, so he was marketed in that manner. I don’t think Imran got the same kind of opportunity. You have to start from scratch in the film industry... I have worked really hard the last two years trying to establish my online shopping business (Pernia Pop-up Shop). In the fashion industry, I feel like everyone knows me and there is a certain amount of respect I get. In films, I will have to prove myself. I am back to ground zero and will have to work twice as hard. There are so many people who have no idea who the hell I am, they are going to see me with a completely fresh perspective, my talent and acting is going to speak for me. I can’t trick people into liking me or fake anything. It’s all depends on how good I am. What’s the one thing you have that your contemporaries don’t? I think being a professional dancer works in my favour because I don’t think there is any other actress in my generation who is fully-trained in any forms of classical dance. People take classes but that’s not called professional dancing. Sonam feels the general perception of an actress in India is that if an actor dresses well, she isn’t much of an actor. Agree? Oh Sonam! (Giggles) I don’t fear this at all because I feel if you convince somebody who is watching your film that you are that character, you have done your job. If I can convince you for those two hours while you are watching the film that I am Noor, a courtesan, and if I can make you forget that I own a shop or I go to fashion shows in Paris... I’ve done my job. If I can’t then I have to improve, that is what I feel. One actor you wish to work with? Salman Khan! That would be like a dream! A film with him where I can be totally filmi! I don’t think my decision to work in a film would depend so much on the actor as on the film. Unless it is Salman, then I would do anything! Sonam will tell you this, there is a really filmi side to me, I am a big Bollywood buff, my favourite movie is Hum Saath Saath Hain. Salman is like a filmi heroine’s dream! An actress who is a complete package? Sonakshi Sinha can be extremely demure. You can strip her off her make-up and make her be completely real and she can handle it. She can be totally glamourous as well. Do you think the same about her style as well? Not as much. But I believe that when you are an actress it is not your responsibility to be extremely stylish. That is not a must because your job is to convince the audience about whatever part you are playing. Style is an added bonus not a pre-requisite. Fashion police is just mean, don’t put so much pressure on these girls, they are here to act and entertain.