Where is Perizaad Zorabian now? The actress who left Bollywood for a Rs 1.2 billion poultry business

If you grew up in a millennial household, chances are Perizaad Zorabian’s face will feel oddly familiar, from the emotional Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye to offbeat films like Joggers’ Park and the thriller Ek Ajnabee, where she even starred alongside Amitabh Bachchan as a mother searching for her kidnapped child.

Then, just as quickly as she seemed to be everywhere on screen, she faded from it.

After a while, films, serials came and went, but she no longer featured in them. As it turns out, she was setting up a Rs 120-crore family business.

Before Bollywood entered the picture, Perizaad had already set her sights on a very different goal. In a recent podcast conversation with Suketu Shah, she described her entry into films as unplanned, calling herself an “accidental actor”. She shared that entrepreneurship was her first dream, one she had held since she was eight years old. After completing her education in India, she moved to New York to pursue an MBA, firmly positioned on a business track.

It was during her time in the US that acting unexpectedly entered the frame. A friend introduced her to the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and curiosity led her in. This exposure soon turned into structured learning. After completing her management degree, she enrolled at the institute and spent a year studying acting.

Her family, she revealed, supported her exploration of the performing arts, even though her foundation remained business-oriented. Eventually, she returned to India, not necessarily with a film career in mind, but with plans that would soon shift dramatically.

Life, however, had other plans.

At a family gathering, she was noticed by a modelling coordinator, a chance encounter that opened the door to her first commercial for Fair & Lovely. That single assignment became the turning point.

Soon after, she landed her film debut in Bollywood Calling, directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, where she starred alongside Om Puri. The film placed her directly into the industry’s creative ecosystem and led to more opportunities.

A steady stream of roles followed, that built her presence in parallel cinema and mainstream projects. She appeared in Joggers’ Park, Mumbai Matinee, and Morning Raga, among others, films that helped define a very specific early-2000s indie Bollywood space.

Despite the growing workload, she was still balancing her responsibilities with her family’s poultry business, Zorabian Chicken, at least in the early phase of her career.

As her acting career developed, Perizaad found herself working alongside some of the most established names in the industry.

She appeared with Amitabh Bachchan in Ek Ajnabee, and also worked with actors such as Om Puri and Shabana Azmi, further cementing her presence in performance-driven cinema.

However, even as her filmography grew, so did the pull of a different life, one that was waiting back home.

At a certain point, the balance between cinema and family enterprise became unsustainable. Her father eventually asked her to choose between continuing in films or returning fully to the business.

She chose films.

That decision allowed her to continue acting, but it also marked the beginning of a phase where she became more selective about roles. Over time, however, another major life shift arrived.

At 33, she married businessman Boman Irani and gradually stepped away from Bollywood. A year after marriage, she welcomed her first child and decided to focus on family life.

During this transition, she also turned down several film opportunities, including Subhash Ghai’s Black & White opposite Anil Kapoor, and Nikkhil Advani’s Salaam-e-Ishq, where she had been offered a role alongside Sohail Khan.

While her on-screen career slowed down, her involvement with the family business moved in the opposite direction.

Zorabian Chicken, the poultry company started by her family, became her central focus. Her return came at a time when the business itself needed attention and revival.

Perizaad stepped in during a challenging phase for the company and worked on rebuilding its operations and direction. The supportive role evolved into full-scale leadership.

According to reports from The Times of India and The Economic Times, the company now records an annual turnover of around Rs 120 crore. It also employs more than 700 people, making it a significant player in its segment.

She has often spoken about her leadership approach, emphasizing empathy and intent over rigid management styles, describing her philosophy as leading with love and passion.

Today, Perizaad’s life looks very different from her years in front of the camera. Her focus is firmly on business and family rather than film sets and scripts.

Her daughter, Zaha, has graduated from Dhirubhai Ambani International School, while her son, Zayaan, is part of her close-knit family life with husband Boman Irani.