When Perizaad Zorabian He has been away from movies for many years, he is still a face that people have not forgotten. One look at her brings to mind her work in films like ‘Joggers Park’ and the Amitabh Bachchan starrer ‘Ek Ajnabee’. He was at the peak of his career when he decided to get married and stop acting. In a recent interview, Perizad revealed that she gave up a film with Anil Kapoor and Nikhil Advani’s ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ when she got married. These days, instead of chasing records, Perizaad spends his time building a business. The company he joined during the financial crisis grew into a thriving business with an annual turnover of Rs 120 crore. Surprisingly, acting was not part of the process.Born into an Iranian family in Mumbai, Perizaad grew up idolizing his father and dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur. Long before he knew the meaning of the word, he knew that he wanted to follow in his footsteps. I was 8 years old and I couldn’t pronounce business correctly, but I knew it was what I wanted to be,” he said in an interview with Suketu Shah.After completing his studies in India, he moved to New York to do his MBA. During his time there, he came across the Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute through a friend. Desperate to become an actor, he enrolled and spent a year learning the art after graduating from business school.Even then, he returned to India with every intention of joining the family business. At a family gathering, a model manager spotted her and offered her a Fair & Lovely ad. Some commercials led to others, and soon, filmmakers began to take notice. Soon, she was cast as the female lead in Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Bollywood Calling”. Om Puri. At that time, Kukunoor was among the leading independent filmmakers in the country, having already built a loyal following through films like ‘Hyderabad Blues’ and ‘Rockford’.Perizaad agreed to do the film, took a month off from work and completed the shoot. But when the film’s release was delayed, he went back to work.“I was very much in love with Zorabian,” he later recalled. Then things changed. When Pritish Nandy Communications acquired ‘Bollywood Calling’ and put Perizaad front and center in its advertising, everything changed almost overnight. “My life changed after that,” he admitted. The timing could not have been better. English-language films in India were still an uncharted territory. There were only a handful of films being produced and a small theater group associated with them. Perizaad suddenly found himself wanting.One job led to another. ‘Morning Raga’, ‘Joggers Park’ and ‘Mumbai Matinee’ followed, making him one of the most popular figures in the niche segment. However, he did not confuse this exposure with the popularity of Bollywood. “I wasn’t a Bollywood star. I wouldn’t have had the kind of attention that Karisma Kapoor would get,” he said.Although his acting career grew, another life was waiting for him in foreign films. He continued to divide his time between movies and the family business until his father asked him to choose one path. This time, he decided to act. The decision came with his father’s blessing.In the next few years, Perizaad developed a different career. She shared screen space with Amitabh Bachchan in ‘Ek Ajnabee’, appeared in the TV show ‘Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye’, did a lot of acting and went to China for three months to watch “Bandung Sonata”, where she portrayed former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.Perizaad was 33 when she married businessman Boman Irani. Before they got married, she said that she wanted to avoid traveling long distances after marriage. “My husband said, ‘When we get married, I don’t want you to go. And my mom was like, ‘Nonsense! How could she say that?’ and my brother-in-law was like, ‘That’s it. Unmarried. He already knew you were an actor. Why would he say that at the last minute?’”But Perizaad told his family, “They didn’t say you can’t walk.” He said: “I’m waiting, but I’d like it if it didn’t go away.” I didn’t take another film after that. The election was not just about marriage. She also thought about motherhood. His priorities had begun to change. “The natural clocks were ticking slowly,” she said, and explained why she decided to start having children.In retrospect, she admits that having children helped her find peace and quit movies. “I knew that the only way out was to get pregnant, so I decided to have a family.” At that time, Subhash Ghai wanted her in “Black and White” opposite Anil Kapoor. Nikhil Advani offered her a role in ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ opposite Sohail Khan. He rejected them all. His mother continued to be very protective of his rights.My mother told my husband, ‘It’s a butterfly. Fortunately, Perizaad did not feel trapped by the decision he had made. Marriage brought new experiences, not limited opportunities. She continued acting, worked in television and embraced motherhood. One memory remains very close to his heart. “I gave birth to two children and I was 48 kgs in shorts and standing in front of 1100 people standing up,” she recalled.As his film career faded into the background, another success story began quietly. When Perizaad became involved in the family business, the company was struggling and carrying huge debts. Over the years, he helped transform it from a poultry business into a modern food business with commercial, ready-to-cook and fast-food options. Today, the company employs around 700 people and generates around Rs 120 crore annually.Even though he has been in the poultry business for many years, he is very careful about what he eats. Perizaad often says he eats chicken every day, but avoids ordering it when he does.