From being an Instagram star with over 4 lakh followers to making her cinematic debut with Abhishek Bachchan – Ahilya Bamroo’s journey is a rather unconventional one. The content creator from Pondicherry, played Bachchan’s daughter in ‘I Want To Talk’, a film directed by Shoojit Sircar. In a candid chat with us, the versatile Ahilya opens up about her exciting tryst with acting, how Pondicherry’s diverse culture has influenced her life and more….

1. Tell us a bit about your background.
I was born in Mumbai but moved to Pondicherry when I was three. I’ve lived in Auroville my whole life and I got exposed to various things as a child and as an adult. I didn’t go to college but I spent my years after high school doing many things like work, research, theatre, learning about alternative economies, writing etc. It was an extremely fruitful time creatively.

2. How much has Pondicherry influenced you?
Pondicherry is a dynamic and slow-paced city. It requires you to slow down and be able to create things of interest for yourself. You have to be disciplined to make your life fulfilling. I love the Auroville community and philosophies. The air is clean and nice and the place has shaped me into being fluid and flexible and not feel pressured into being any specific way or being super successful.

3. How did ‘I Want To Talk’ happen?
I was making content like funny skits and accent videos during the pandemic on Instagram. That’s when the producer of the film Ronnie Lahiri came across one of my videos. They sent me a DM and I spoke to someone from the team. I sent a self-test, met with the director and got the part. I’m forever grateful as this entire journey really started in the confines of my bedroom when I was making content on my mobile phone.

4. What role do you play in ‘I Want To Talk’?
I play Arjun Sen’s daughter in the film. It’s based on the true story of Arjun Sen, who’s a marketing executive who was given a 100 days to live. The film is about resilience, our relationships with loved ones, the things you have to say before it’s too late and more. It’s about life rather than death. I am blessed to be given this part because it’s an incredible person’s real-life story. It had to be treated with a lot of sensitivity.

5. How was it working with an actor like Abhishek Bachchan and a filmmaker like Shoojit Sircar?
It was a dream. I was very nervous as it was my first film. But I had full faith from the team. Shoojit da was very patient and encouraging. I had full trust that whatever he makes is always magical so I had no doubt in the outcome. I’ve grown up watching Abhishek. He’s such an incredible performer and a hilarious person and to meet him in real life and play his daughter was surreal. Never for a moment did I feel that he was disregarding my place in the process of making the film. It’s an extremely kind and wonderful thing to experience. To be able to learn from someone who’s so great at their craft was a dream come true.

6. You’re a popular social media personality on Instagram. How did you get into content creation?
I wanted to go to university, but the pandemic skewed my plans. I finally decided to make vlogs and skits about my observations of the world. My penchant for accents comes from the fact that Auroville has people from different nationalities. I’ve heard these accents growing up. Every accent I speak in is based on a real person. I picked it up by listening to them.

7. Would you like to explore more of acting, especially south Indian cinema?
I’d love to explore acting as it has been my passion since childhood. I’m super interested in trying out different parts and challenging myself as an actor. I understand a fair bit of Tamil but unfortunately don’t speak it yet – I’ve been taking classes in Tamil. I would definitely be interested in being part of south Indian films. I also think Malayalam cinema has some of the finest movies in the country.

8. What message do you have for aspiring content creators?
Be yourself. You are unique, so don’t be like everybody else. Do the thing that interests and encapsulates you. People will always tune into authenticity. So, take a chance and trust yourself and you can be as creative, crazy and fearless as you can.