A graphic designer by profession, Ariana Ayam is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Shekhar Suman’s film Heartless. Rajlaxmi Arora chats her up about her tryst with films and her future endeavours

A small acting assignment for one of her friends, Bollywood actor Adhyayan Suman (Shekhar Suman’s son), landed Ariana Ayam a meaty role in the upcoming film Heartless. The charming girl who was born in Afghanistan and moved to the US when she was a year old. works as a graphic designer in New York.

“I have not learnt acting and the short film I did for Adhyayan was my first assignment as an actress, which caught Shekhar-ji’s attention. He asked me if I could act in his movie and for once, I actually thought he was joking, but he was quite clear in his head about what he wanted me to do,” says Ariana with a smile.
Her first full-length feature film has been quite a challenging task for the young lady who is more comfortable sitting in front of the computer and creating her own designs.

“This was a very different experience for me as I am so used to sitting at one place and creating my own stuff. Here, you have to do exactly what the director asks you to do, which is quite challenging,” adds Ariana.
Ask her how the shooting experience was and she laughs. “I think it was quite difficult for me to work in the Dubai heat. There were outdoor shoots and it was extremely hot, whereas the hospital scenes shot in the OT were extremely cold, so I had a tough time,” she reveals.

A very close friend of Adhyayan, Ariana says that she couldn’t have managed without him. “I wouldn’t have made it without him. He has helped me a lot. Heartless is my first film and I got to learn so much from Adhyayan. I used to watch him do his scenes and try to incorporate whatever I could in my scenes too,” she shares.

Being a graphic designer, Ariana is also inclined towards designing garments in the future. “Adhyayan’s mom is a designer and she has designed a few clothes for me in this film. Since I am passionate about designing, I would probably want to work with her in the future,” adds Ariana.

The young debutante, who moved to Mumbai six months ago, is very fond of the city and Indian food. “The city life in New York is almost similar, just that people in India are very warm towards each other. Ever since I came to this city, I have found the people friendly. My cast and crew members have also been very supportive. I am also in love with Indian food and love eating rajma-chawal,” wraps up Ariana.