On the day we dropped in to meet Shraddha Kapoor, the petite actress was dressed in a pretty cobalt blue faux wrap dress paired with delicate layered necklaces. Her almost make-up free face was radiant, her demeanour cheerful. She was playing with her hair while responding to text messages. There’s a certain beauty, innocence and fragility to Shraddha, which is why it’s almost impossible to think of her as Haseena Parkar, sister of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. With director Apoorva Lakhia’s Haseena Parkar, the young actor is taking baby steps out of her comfort zone to show her acting chops. 

You must have heard about this film before it was offered to you?

Yes… from my brother (Siddhanth, who plays Dawood Ibrahim in the film). He was signed on months before me. And he was so excited about it. He was so gung-ho to be a part of this film because the script is so good. I was so happy that he was so happy. And then some time later, I was offered the film.

And what was your first reaction when Apoorva asked you to play Haseena Parkar?

I was pleasantly surprised that someone was seeing me in a non-girl-next-door kind of way. It’s not that I don’t love playing that kind of a character. I love being part of romantic films and playing that regular sort of girl. But at the same time, I was thrilled when Apu came to me with the role of Haseena. Though honestly, it did take me a while to digest that I was being offered a role like this. 

Did you immediately say ‘yes’ or did you take your time?

The minute the narration was done, Apu saw my reaction and knew that I was hooked. I was deeply moved and even cried through particular parts of the narration. I told him I’m very happy to be a part of this film.

But you still didn’t see yourself as her?

No. I asked him if I’d be able to play the role, and his vision and confidence gave me a feeling that it’s possible and that maybe it could happen.

When did you finally think that you could be Haseena?

It happened only once I started shooting. During prep, I started to feel connected with the character. When everything, from your body language to how you look and sound, is changed, you start becoming that person. And then there was all the research — meeting people, reading and listening to stories that help you understand who the character is. 

Would it be correct to say that this is your first film that has required this amount of prep?

This prep was a different sort of prep from the other films that I’ve done. Because this character is a real-life character, not a fictional one. I had to sit with her family, I had to chat with them, understand who this woman was because unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet her while she was alive. So whatever we’ve tried to recreate of her on the big screen is a result of Apu’s research and my attempt at interpretation of the same. 

So this film did require more prep than your previous films?

I wouldn’t say more or less, because each film had its own demands in terms of prep for the character. For example, for Half Girlfriend (co-starring Arjun Kapoor), it was important for me to do a certain amount of training in basketball, to be able to play certain shots.... It’s not something that I could just go on set and do. So I did about 15 classes which was sufficient for the basketball portions of the film. Now, for the Saina (Nehwal) biopic, I’m on my 32nd class (of badminton). So the prep is different for each film.

This film had a different kind of process, especially because I’ve never played a mom on screen. It was very interesting. I had to watch pregnancy videos, which I had a blast watching! I watched a couple of blogs of women who documented their entire pregnancies from conception up until a couple of months after delivery. Just to understand what it is because so much happens to a woman’s body that you can’t relate to it unless you’ve actually gone through it. So the next best thing you can do is this. I had this artificial belly bump as well, and I tried to imagine that there was an actual living being inside of me, that I’m not actually alone even when I’m alone. So, it was very interesting. And for the first time, I’m playing a character that ages above my real age as well. So, it was amazing but very challenging and draining too.

Actors say that characters that take them out of their comfort-zone tend to change them. Did you experience that?

During this film, especially in the emotionally charged bits where I had to be “Aapa”, I didn’t speak much to anybody on set and nobody would speak to me either. That’s very unlike me. I was told that I was giving off a slightly intimidating energy. And I also felt a difference... I guess the role does stay with you. Sometimes, when I would go back home as well, I would feel more authoritative, like I needed to take charge of things. Otherwise as a person, I’m very moody and quite a scatterbrain.

You have a few really interesting films coming up...

Saaho (with Prabhas) is my first multilingual film. We’re shooting it in both Hindi and Telugu. And there’s Saina where it’s incredible that Amol (Gupte) Sir thought of casting me. She’s one of our icons and such a warrior, even now the way she’s bounced back again after her injuries. So yes, I’m very excited and feel very challenged as well.

Is it a conscious decision to pick films that challenge you a lot more and show the audience a different avatar?

What keeps me engaged and excited is to do different kinds of work. Even when I watch the films of my favourite actors, I see them playing different kinds of characters and as a fan, I enjoy that more. So I’m sure the audience would want to see me in different roles. I also enjoy the self-doubt that comes in when I have to do a new role — I want to feel challenged all the time.

Finally, there is so much chatter about Farhan Akhtar and you. Are you seeing each other?

There is no control over what is written or what is speculated. I am currently single.

Karishma Upadhyay
Do you think Farhan and Shraddha look good together? Tell t2@abp.in