Ayesha Takia and her boyfriend Farhan have chosen Candolim as the site of boutique hotel in Goa, says Sujata Chakrabarti.

Ayesha Takia may soon shed her whole bubbly girl-next-door image and don a corporate suit. This was confirmed by the actor herself. However, the twist in the tale is that the change of image would not be for a Bollywood flick.

Ayesha wants to get into the hospitality business. She says, “I want to pursue it seriously as a career.”

Ayesha will surely have no fears of a career crisis, as she and beau Farhan have already taken their first step towards the hospitality sector. Not satisfied with just fine dining restaurants across Mumbai, the duo want to expand commercially and have already chosen Candolim in Goa to build a boutique hotel. The hotel will be minutes away from the Baga beach and Ayesha hopes that she will be able to attract a sizeable foreign clinetele to her hotel.

Ayesha has zoomed on a 200-year-old Portuguese bungalow which will be renovated into a boutique hotel. It is said to have a massive garden around it with a well. The hotel will have just 20 rooms to provide exclusivity to the hotel guests.

They plan to construct a pool and lounge area with arrangements for surround sound. Ayesha and Farhan have plans to open 12 more hotels across the country.

Farhan, who already owns restaurants like Basilico and Koyla in Mumbai, wants to keep the look international. He wants to strike a balance between a modern and ethnic look. He is planning automated buggies to move around within the premises and expensive cars for airport pick up and drops.

Farida, Ayesha’s mother, who has been written about constantly in the media for hand-holding her daughter to every public appearance, thinks that her daughter is different from the rest of the Bollywood brigade.

She says, “Ayesha is not ambitious at all about cinema. She is a chilled-out girl. If, for any reason, she cannot pursue cinema, she will not mind. Cinema is not primary for her.”

Ayesha says she wants to break free from the typical Bollywood image of leading actresses marrying late due to career demands.

She says, “Maybe I will be the first one among Bollywood actresses marrying this early.”

Though Ayesha was reluctant to tell us how soon she would get married, Farida said it would probably happen by the end of this year.

However, Ayesha promised to inform the media before anyone else because, “the press has been very helpful” to her.

Talking about her choice of movies, Ayesha thinks she is more suited for comedies. Though she hopes that more movies of like Dor fall into her kitty, for the moment, she is happy donning the comic cap.

And no, she is not afraid of being a typecast.