Pernia Qureshi like to focus more on films

Pernia Qureshi comes like a breath of fresh air. At her beautiful home in the suburbs of Mumbai, she greets people with warmth.
The fashion entrepreneur will be making her film debut this week in filmmaker Muzaffar Ali's Jaanisaar, a period romance set in pre-Independence India and produced by Meera Ali. As she talks about her transition from a couture specialist to a Bollywood heroine, Pernia says it was a natural shift."I have been a classical dancer all my life. I started learning Kathak in Rampur with my mom when I was three. It felt so organic that Muzaffar sir, who had seen me dance a few times in Delhi, should offer me the role of a dancer in his film. I also performed for his sufi music festival at the Humayun's Tomb and he often jokes that I have danced my way through this film," says Pernia.
The debutante, who is cast opposite Imran Abbas, plays Noor, a courtesan from a princely state in Awadh. "Besides being happy, vivacious and extroverted, my character has a bigger purpose in life. She is connected to her roots, is patriotic, brave and a revolutionary , which inspired me to be a better person," says Pernia.
But it was her diction that she had to work on. "I am fluent in Hindi and Urdu, but because I studied in America, I had an accent. While dubbing, I lowered my voice to make it deeper and huskier. We focused on every word and pronunciation, which was quite tedious," she says.
Talking about her future plans, Pernia says she would not restrict herself. "I'm free-spirited and would like to focus more on films in future. But whether fashion, films or dance, I have to be creatively satisfied. I'm a restless person and don't like to keep myself idle," she signs off.
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