Hum Saath Saath Hain actor Zoya Afroz: I have grown up learning on film sets

Actor Zoya Afroz, who played a child actor in the 1999 film Hum Saath Saath Hain, says that working with filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya was a great learning experience and she got the best training under his guidance.

Zoya Afroz is all grown-up and has already played the lead role in two films, but audience still know her as a cute little child actor. Her connection with Bollywood goes back to when she was five years old when she worked as a child star in films such as Hum Saath Saath Hai (1999) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003).

Zoya Afroz’s debut film as a lead actor The Xpose (2014), alongside Himesh Reshammiya, bombed at the box office, but this has not deterred her confidence.

“Experience does help you a lot. There is nothing better than learning things in front of the camera and shooting throughout. Working with an ace director like Sooraj Barjatya was super awesome, since I got really good training. I have loved being on sets and have grown up learning on sets,” says Zoya.

The 23-year-old actor, who was recently seen in Sweetey Weds NRI, alongside Yaariyan actor Himansh Kohli, feels that a new actor might not be as prepared for a film as a child actor can be. “Someone who has just started wouldn’t know what to do. I have grown up on the film sets. Hum Saath Saath Hai and Kuch Naa Kaho were huge films. I know how things work, so when I go on sets, I am more confident and I exactly know what I am supposed to do,” she says.

“ I absolutely knew what I was getting into when I signed my debut film. I had just won a beauty pageant and within five months, I signed a movie. I was pretty happy to have worked with Irrfan and Honey Singh. That film has definitely given me recognition. Actors can’t really predict what happens at the box office. I will keep trying and pushing my luck,” adds Zoya.

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