Perizaad Zorabian at the Oberoi Grand on Tuesday. Picture by Rashbehari Das

She has always chosen to do things differently. And so when it came to marriage and motherhood Perizaad Zorabian just “went with the flow”. t2 caught up with the gorgeous mom, who was in town on Tuesday to launch Aviance cosmetic products...

Marriage and then motherhood — how has life changed for you?

Life has changed 365 degrees. And for the better. Being married itself makes you do a lot of things you always wanted to do. Being a mother notches that up 100 times. You become a better person.

Was it all planned this way?

Are you mad?! Nothing was planned! In fact, everyone around told me not to get married and work for two more years. This will happen… that will happen. But I was hit, no? (Smiles.) And when you get hit, you surrender… People were like, you shouldn’t do it so fast. I couldn’t care. I wanted to go with the flow. Boman (Irani, her husband — not the actor) and me just knew each other for one year before our marriage. So being together was important rather than he doing his thing and me doing mine. In that way getting pregnant was the best thing that could have happened to me. Because that automatically meant a break for one-and-a-half years. And Boman completely indulged me!

Why have you named the little one Zaha and what is she like?

Zaha in Persian means splendour. I didn’t want a typical Parsi-Irani name. And Zaha starts with Zorabian’s Z. Zaha is completely divine. She is like this gorgeous little baby, all of four-and-a-half months. I was really scared at the prospect of becoming a mother. I’m not this motherly, maternal person from any angle. I don’t look at babies and go poochie-poochie. So I was insecure as to how I would be as a mother. But I got completely absorbed. In ways I didn’t know was possible. Like today (Tuesday) morning I got up at 4.30 and Zaha was supposed to be sleeping. But she was awake and she looked at me with twinkling eyes and gave me a big smile. You think I smile a lot? My daughter takes the cake!

You are in serious competition for the sexiest mom around...

(Laughs out loud) There’s so many of them. There’s Kajol, of course. Karisma is there. I go to a gym and there’s Malaika working out at one end and Mehr working out at the other. All these are mothers and who can say. In Hollywood, your career begins once you are a mother. There is a maturity and understanding that comes in. There’s something in your core which goes thak! You feel you can conquer the world. I can’t imagine I am saying it but I recommend motherhood to everyone.

So will it be back to work now?

I am just about starting. My husband is very supportive. I want to pace it in a way that my daughter is my first priority. At the same time, I don’t want to forget me in the process of becoming a wife and a mother. I don’t think motherhood or marriage can stifle me in any way. Boman appreciates that I give a lot and so when I have something for myself, he doesn’t grudge that. Balancing is the most important thing. The positive thing is that I am a lot more focussed now as opposed to being dheela like I used to be. I will now do things that I really want to do because every assignment that I choose will take me away from my daughter. Thankfully opportunities haven’t stopped coming by.

Like?

I am doing a new show for NDTV Good Times called Limited Edition. It’s about luxury and I am experiencing it myself, like opening my eyes to the world. My personality comes through on the show and it doesn’t take too much of my time — four days a month. It keeps me going as of now. Zaha has to be a little older before I can take on a full-fledged film.

But there are films pending to be released...

Yes, there’s N. Chandra’s Breaking News. Adlabs will release it. It’s hard-hitting but we have to see whether people will take so much of reality. Kabhi Up Kabhi Down is my star movie. It’s about this actress who kidnaps the director, played by Sanjay Suri, to be taken a bit seriously. It’s directed by a new guy called Raman Bharadwaj. It’s funny yet it’s so sad because you see someone on the brink of breaking down. Then there’s Highway with Kay Kay Menon which has been ready for quite some time.