Sonam Kapoor the star of Saawariya opens her heart. Sonam speaks about her father Anil Kapoor, her holiday plans, her expectations with Saawariya, and much more.
“I’m like a tap,” says Sonam Kapoor, about her histrionic ability to turn on laughter and tears instantly, at the thud of clapboard. “I can cry and laugh really fast.”
I don’t doubt that, but this is as good an opportunity as any to put the hyperactive newcomer on the spot. Cry, I say. “Uh, right now? Like, right-right now? You’re serious?” Sonam, smiling yet visibly confused, for one brief second, interprets the silence as solemn. Her lower lip quivers half an inch before I grin and she promptly breaks into hysterical laughter. Damn, how I wish we had video.
There is, shall we say, a lot of the aforementioned manic laughter in a conversation with this girl. Daughter to Anil and Sunita Kapoor, Sonam makes her motion picture debut in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya, barely a fortnight away. I’m sitting in her palatial drawing room in Mumbai’s starry Juhu suburb, massive canvases across the walls, ornate sofa arrangements and coffee tables adorned with much bric-a-brac. The tall heroine walks in, yawning and grinning at the same time, apologizes for being asleep and begs someone to get her coffee.
I should have known she didn’t need any. As if dropped into a cauldron of Red Bull as a baby, this girl is breathlessly full of beans and immensely wired, to say the least. So yes, when she says the toughest part of acting in Saawariya was being still, you believe her. “And I had to be still a lot. And I’m usually in emotional havoc all the time.”
Right now, the film has massive buzz. Not just is it one of those Bollywood events, a Sanjay Bhansali movie, but it is Sony Pictures’ first Indian production.
The budget has been massive and the hype machine is in complete overdrive, readying for the mega release on November 9. “It’s been overwhelming, sort of. It’s like a riot of emotions inside me. But it’s fun.” And the scary bit? “I’m the sort of person who feels everything at the same time, I feel too much. Every emotion is heightened, I’m an extreme person,” admits Sonam. “And I think that’s scary.”
Obsessed with cinema and all things creative, Sonam went to the United World College in Singapore, dabbling more with art direction. “I never really got into acting,” she smiles, vocally italicizing the word as she seems to do all relatively unreal, larger-than-life words — actress, Bollywood, Salman. “I did monologues for plays and stuff but that’s because I wrote the monologues. Otherwise, I never wanted to be an actor. A dancer maybe, not an actor.”
Bhansali changed that when she came aboard his last film, Black, as one of many Assistant Directors — including her Saawariya co-star Ranbir. “The first day I came to work on the sets and sir looked at me and said, `you’re an actress.’ So the seed was in my brain, and then I realized `Hmm, I like what Amitji and Rani are doing in front of the camera, I’m a little more interested in that, maybe.’”
Continued >>
After the thunderous response Jab We Met received from the audience, Kareena Kapoor is upbeat about her future projects. Kareena Kapoor speaks about her upcoming movie Tashan with Saif Ali Khan and the chemistry she shared with Shahid Kapoor in Jab We Met. Kareena Kapoor also speaks about her cousin Ranbir Kapoor.
Exlusive Interview
So how are things these days?
I am working very hard these days. I have been shooting daily for Tashan. I am very tired but despite everything I am giving you an interview (smiles).
Thanks. So tell us, what is the USP of Jab We Met?
The dialogues of Jab We Met happen to be one of their USPs. The way this scene has been written and the way I say the lines in the film — I feel it was completely power-packed. But then it was quite easy because I’m like this girl a little bit.
Your roots are from Punjab and you shot extensively over there. Did you indulge in the local revelry like fassi etc?
No, we never had time for that. We were shooting in Patiala for the Punjab portion and the location was some two hours away from our hotel. We traveled everyday for four hours and then shot for eight hours. So we hardly had time to see the place.
We were shooting at this place called Nabha, which is close to Patiala, and the locations there were mind blowing. We shot in a haveli. When you see the film, you will realize that it looks like a typical Sikhni household — very similar to the houses found in Patiala and Bhatinda. I think the credit for that goes to the director Imtiaz Ali.
You must have visited many places while shooting the film…
Yes, we shot at many places — Shimla, Rohtang pass, Manali… It was an outdoor schedule of 40 to 45 days and till the time the shooting of the film was on, the whole unit was like one huge family.
So is this your last film with Shahid?
No, not at all. Why do people think that? If the script and roles is good, then why not? I am sure that after the film is released, it will rock. People will expect the chemistry between us to be as good in future. People who have seen the film during the trial shows have loved it and said that the chemistry is very good. Filmmakers should write films for us and we will definitely do it.
What kind of feedback did you get?
Many people messaged me (after the trial shows) and most of them were my friends and family. My mother cried after she saw the film. Obviously, she must be thinking on emotional lines and said that her daughter has done a very good job.
During the promotions, you and Shahid appeared only once together.
Yes. I was busy shooting for Tashan when the promotion was going on. I was in Delhi, Shahid was in Toronto. Then I returned to Mumbai, but we had no time. We appeared on Nach Baliye together.
Did you give any acting tips to Ranbir Kapoor, who’s making his debut in Saawariya?
I don’t think he needs any tips. From the promos, I can tell he is a born superstar. It’s in our blood.
Shahid has gone on record that he is single. What about you?
I think Jab We Met is a great film and I don’t think that I need to talk anymore about this film.
Are you sure you won’t say anything?
Nothing, not at all.
Via rediff.com
Priyanka Chopra spoke to Timesnow Tv about her perfect man, don 2 and her forthcoming movie drona with abhishek bachchan.
Karishma(timesnow.tv): You’re all set to give tips for men to dress well. What are your tips?
Priyanka Chopra: Who else to tell a man how to dress better than a woman? Eventually they dress for you. I love men in suits; they look their best in suits when they’re impeccably dressed, well manicured, well turned out, intelligent looking guys. I think all men should dress like that to impress the women in their lives. I always try for the best and I will not settle for anything less.
Karishma: You’ve almost always been very well dressed, but there have been a couple of bloopers. How do you look back at them?
Priyanka Chopra: I think everybody does. You can’t always be impeccably dressed and you don’t always have a great day. But it’s a part of learning and everything has been trial and error for me. I think people forgive you for those things.
Karishma: The other things people remember you for are the action sequences. Has it been fun fighting Shah Rukh Khan and being a bodyguard to Abhishek Bachchan?
Priyanka Chopra: Yes, it actually has! Don was new for me; I had never done action before . But more than anything, it was shooting for Drona because it’s an entirely action-based film and that was great fun.
Karishma: Did you pull a muscle?
Priyanka Chopra: Yes, I hurt myself. I was doing a summersault and I pulled a muscle. I didn’t know I was supposed to warm up. I’m not really a “physical” person. That hurt a lot but we had to shoot and we got by. It’s looking good so I’m happy.
Karishma: After Don is Don 2. I heard Farhan Akhtar say somewhere that he plans to kill your character.
Priyanka Chopra: I’ll kill Farhan! I don’t know about that yet. I guess that will happen later because Farhan is currently working on other films right now, so that’s at a much later stage.
Karishma: You’re not part of the Bachchans world tour. What happened?
Priyanka Chopra: I’m shooting now till the end of June-July and I couldn’t adjust that. I would’ve loved to be part of that world tour. They’re great fans and I love hanging out with them but I wouldn’t have been able to do that because I’m shooting for other films.
Karishma: Dhoni also endorses one of the brands of this company. Is that a coincidence?
Priyanka Chopra: I didn’t even know that. I was approached on an individual level.
via timesnow.tv
All actors do interviews to promote their films. The date and time is fixed, and then an hour before the appointment, the PR girl calls to say, “No personal questions please.” There is more torture ahead. As you turn the Dictaphone on, the actor will switch off. You have no option but to use third degree to get him to say anything.
After that tiring endeavor, you return to your laptop and work hard to make him ‘look good’ to his eager fans out there. Shahrukh is probably the only actor in the country who makes you look good when you interview him. For weeks, people will call you to gush about what a great interview it was. However, you cannot take credit. It is all SRK. Here, King Khan talks about his upcoming film, about being pitted against Saawariya, about being apolitical and more…
Continued >>
