Amrita Puri has spent enough time away from the movies to know what a real break feels like. The actor, known for Aisha and Kai Po Che, said on The Shaili Chopra Show that she stepped back from acting for two years to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh — and she does not regret it.
The two-year detour
Amrita described the move as a deliberate choice, not an accident. She moved to the UK and was unavailable for two years. During that period, she said, people would wonder aloud if she had stopped acting or even if she still lived in the country.
She acknowledged that any big pause invites what-ifs. Her response is to accept that you cannot have everything in life and to go with your gut rather than wait for certainty.
Parents were not sold on acting
Amrita also shared that her parents initially did not want her to become an actor. She said she entered the profession knowing it was unreliable and that she might fail, but she decided to take the chance anyway.
The same confidence shaped her education detour. She was not bothered about being the oldest person in a classroom, and she was not scared of being forgotten by the film business. As she put it:
“Decisions that I have taken have made me who I am.”
That sense of identity, she suggested, is what gives a person the nerve to step away and return.
Why the credits still hold up
Amrita’s filmography helps explain why a break did not become an ending. Her debut in Aisha earned her a Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance and a Filmfare nomination. Later roles widened her audience, and her web portfolio kept her visible after the break.
- Aisha (2010) — debut alongside Sonam Kapoor, with a Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance.
- Blood Money (2012) — a Mahesh Bhatt film that followed her debut.
- Kai Po Che (2013) — the buddy sports drama that gave her wider recognition.
- Web series including Four More Shots Please!, Made in Heaven, Mentalhood and Jeet Ki Zid.
- Last seen in the acclaimed series IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack with Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur.
For celebrity watchers, this is the useful context. Many actors avoid stepping away because visibility feels like survival. Amrita’s example suggests a pause can be reversible if there is real work on the other side.
What to borrow from her playbook
There is a career lesson for anyone weighing a risky break. Treat the pause as temporary, stay clear about why you are doing it, and trust that you can return.
Amrita’s advice, in effect: do not wait for everyone to approve, accept that you may fail, and let the decisions themselves build your confidence. You may never know if it was the perfect choice, but you will know it was yours.
Source: Hindustan Times
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