On the face of it, Sonam Kapoor is like any other pretty young thing. She’s a social media addict and thanks to her Twitter and constantly-updated Instagram, we know she loves to shop and dress up. Her status updates show she often has hectic work days (and bad hair days) and like most 28-year-old, she takes it all in her stride cheerfully.
Unlike many 28-year-olds, however, Kapoor is one of the most-recognised faces in the country and one of Bollywood’s brightest. With the success of Raanjhanaa, in which Kapoor played a budding politician who must negotiate her way through corruption and heartbreak, the actress is on cloud nine. But she has barely had time to celebrate. After the rush of promotions for Raanjhanaa, Kapoor is back on the publicity train for her next release, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, which is inspired by the real life story of Indian athlete Milkha Singh. “I don’t even have time to be happy,” said Kapoor as she settled down in her Juhu home to talk about her new film.
There’s a candour to Kapoor that has in the past got her into sticky situations — remember that Koffee With Karan episode in which her comments about Ranbir Kapoor earned her Rishi Kapoor’s ire? – but she’s held on to that bluntness, and it’s refreshing. For instance, instead of presenting her role in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag as important, she begins by putting her cards on the table. “I just have a 15-20 minute role in the film,” she says. It may not be a meaty role in the conventional sense, but it’s obvious that Kapoor enjoyed herself playing Biroo, the hero’s love interest. ” It was a lovely break for me to play her,” said Kapoor. “She is very pure and an easy character to play as opposed to Zoya [in Raanjhanaa] who drove me crazy with her complexities. This was a good breather… Biroo is an inspiration for Milkha Singh and she is instrumental in making him the Flying Sikh.” adds the actress.
To opt for such a small role at this stage in her career, when you’d think she’d be angling for more central and sizeable parts in films, seems like a strange decision. Kapoor knows this, but there is some reasoning that’s gone into this plan. “I always make such crazy choices,” she admitted. “It keeps me from being typecast.” For Kapoor the biggest draw of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was the team with which she’d be working. “I wanted to work with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra,” she said. “I loved Prasoon Joshi’s script and I also wanted to work with Farhan Akhtar.” Speaking about working with Akhtar, Kapoor said, “I never met Farhan Akhtar on the sets. I just met Milkha Singh. He became Milkha Singh. I couldn’t find Farhan Akhtar.”
Right from the moment she read the script, Kapoor was sureBhaag Milkha Bhaag would be special and she sure she wanted to be part of it. “It was a win-win situation for me,” she said. “I thought, it’s just 20 days’ work. The script is so beautiful and it will be an iconic film and I wanted to be a part of it, because I knew that this film will go down in history.”
So convinced was Kapoor aboutBhaag Milkha Bhaag that she charged only Rs 11 as remuneration. In case this raises any producer’s hopes, Kapoor clarified her usual rates as an actress aren’t quite so affordable. “It was a one-off thing,” she said. “Generally main bahaut paise mangte hu. Mujhe shopping ka bahaut shok hai, agar maine paise nahi liye toh mein shopping kaise karungi? [Generally I charge a lot. I love to shop. If I don't charge for my films, from where will I get the money to shop?] But, I think I am doing this film as a tribute to my country. I somehow feel that sports in our country have not been given enough importance and by doing this film, I think in a lot of ways it will encourage people to take up sports and help sportsmen across the country.”
It’s curious that of late, Kapoor’s on screen avatar has been rather de-glamorised, because the actress is known for making fashion statements and carrying of haute couture with panache. Kapoor, however, doesn’t think the roles she’s played have been unfashionable. “Just because my characters wear Indian clothes doesn’t mean they aren’t glamorous, ” she said. ” Zoya is like the prettiest girl in Banaras. That is what Anand Rai told me during my brief, “Zoya Banaras ki sabse khubsoorat Ladki hai. Sare Ladke uske piche pagal hai. (Zoya is the prettiest girl in Banaras. All the boys are crazy for her).” Plus, in case you missed it, Kapoor pointed out how well accessorised and turned out Zoya was in Raanjhanaa. “Zoya had a lovely collection of nose-rings. She loves wearing kajal and blow drying her hair.”
Perhaps because she’s well aware of how most people assume women in show business will be bimbos, Kapoor tries to stay abreast of current affairs and as a public figure, she feels she has an obligation to make her opinion known.”If someone is being sexist or homophobic or the government is screwing up then it is irresponsible of me to not have an opinion,” she said. “If I am wrong, I will apologise as well. … It is irresponsible of me to not have an opinion on Uttarakhand floods or Jiah Khan’s death… or if someone is being homophobic, like Baba Ramdev was being on certain issues.” One of her pet peeves is how some men objectify women and, because women are taught to suffer in silence, Kapoor feels being vocal is the only way to set things right. “I think it encourages young girls to come forward,” she said. “If someone is telling me that you cannot wear short skirts, because boys are getting rattled eyed, I would obviously tell that person that he is being an idiot. It isn’t the short skirt, it is the boy who needs to be whacked. If I as somebody who is a public figure cannot have an opinion, then other girls will get scared to have an opinion.”
Sonam Kapoor will next be seen in the remake of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Khubsoorat, and also in a Yash Raj Film starring Ayushmann Khurrana.
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