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Dressed in an Anamika Khanna kurta pyjama and a “cutwork” mustard jacket, a smiling Sonam Kapoor plonks down on a blue couch in Taj Bengal’s Crystal room after a walk in the lawns with Shahid Kapoor. Mausam has brought her to town on Sunday and t2 is all ears...
Mausam is finally releasing. Feeling relieved?
Yes! Can you believe it?! I am just really happy that after two years of working so hard, it’s coming to a culmination. There is some sort of gratitude to god that after working so hard we are getting a release, which is a worldwide release. It’s good. I am blessed.
But isn’t it frustrating to wait endlessly for a release?
I understand… in Hindi, they have this saying ke agar bhagwan kuch khoobsurat banaate hain, toh woh fursat se banaate hain. Kudrat ne use fursat se banaaya hai. You take time to make nice things. You have to realise that.... And this is one of my shorter films. Saawariya and Delhi-6 took longer than this.
Are you happy to be in Calcutta?
I am glad we were able to come to Calcutta because I have a huge fan following here. And also because Anamika (Khanna) has done the clothes for the film. A lot of our crew was from Calcutta. Samir Chanda was a Bengali, who passed away. He was also from Calcutta.... Mausam is a very tasteful film and Bengalis love tasteful films…. I love Calcutta! I love the food here.
Was it difficult to play Aayat, who is so not like you?
Till now, the roles that I have done have not been similar to who I am as a person. I always choose roles that are not completely me. Playing Aayat was a challenge because I want a challenge. Do you know what I mean? Playing someone who is so simple, so sehmi hui, so patient…. There is a saying that ‘still waters run deep’. Aayat is very still. First of all, she is a motherless child. She has been brought up by her father. She is from Kashmir, which is a place of unrest. She is a Muslim. A lot of things keep going on in her mind. She’s got a lot of angst. And she is so young. So, she has a maturity beyond her age, which was nice to play. It was a contrast… playing someone who is so young and still has the maturity and still manages to look young. That was very necessary. I think it is brilliant that I got to play someone like her.
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| Sonam Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor at Taj Bengal on Sunday. Pictures by Amit Datta |
After living with a character for two years, doesn’t one almost become the character?
The great thing is from every character, I have learnt something. From Sakina in Saawariya, I learnt that love can make you go mad, because she went mad eventually. You did not know whether he (Salman Khan) was real or not. I liked that. From Bittu (Delhi-6), I learnt ambition. She was a girl who wanted more from what life was offering her. She wanted to be someone. With Aisha (Aisha), I figured out that love cannot be fixed. Love just happens! From Aayat, I learnt that you can always be hopeful. No matter what you go through in life, you need to hold on to hope. You need to hold on to love.
Capturing 10 years of Aayat in two-and-a-half-hours must have been one hell of a task…
I did a lot of preparation for that. I lost weight. I put on weight. Body language changed. Voice changed. There were a lot of things that we worked on with the help of Pankaj Sir. Anamika also worked a lot on the clothes… on what Aayat would wear when she’s 16, 20, 24 and in her late 20s. It is a film about moments. It is not about the journey.
The film also talks about different seasons of love…
Well, there are four seasons of love. Seasons do play a large part… rain, winter, dhoop… but it is about the seasons of love. There is the first season when she is 16. The second when she is in her mid-20s, the third when she is in her late 20s and in the fourth season, she is in her early 30s. So, there is age progression.
Shahid and you have crackling chemistry. How did it come about?
I think we had this chemistry even when we were doing the rehearsals. You either have it or you don’t. And then we got to know each other and oh, we made good friends! I think a lot of people who have that chemistry end up being friends and never end up getting into a relationship. I have just realised it. It was Madhuri (Dixit) and my dad, Shah Rukh (Khan) and Kajol... you know what I mean. They never ended up being in a relationship. But they’ve always had the best chemistry possible. It is very similar.
What did Anamika Khanna design for you?
Very simple! Anamika is such a simple person herself. I think it was a relief for her not to act as a designer but a costume designer. You cater to the character and not to what your style is. She loves only organic fabrics. It was very organic. Her prints were there. You can make out Anamika’s signature, but at the same time you can understand that she has only done it for Aayat.
Were there any inputs from you?
I always have inputs when it comes to my costumes and clothes. Always. That is why I get Anamika, so that I don’t have to think about it. That is why she did Delhi-6 and Mausam. These were the two films where I really did not want to concentrate on clothes. I need someone I can really trust. And Anamika is the best in the business. I have always said it. She happens to be one of my closest friends. I love her.
What is romance for you?
Actually, it is all about love. Romance is the trappings that come with love. So, if love is a cake, romance is the icing on it.
The most romantic thing you have ever done...
I bought a diary and on each page I wrote a quotation. On each page! There are like 365 pages. It was three years back. I was 22.
The most romantic thing someone’s done for you...
Nobody has ever done anything romantic for me! (Mock cries.) Usually, people are so scared to buy me anything or do anything because I have very specific taste. They are like, ‘Can you send me a link of what you want?’ (Laughs.)
So, what’s the most romantic thing someone can do for you?
Take me on a trip away from Bombay. Somewhere… to the south of France!
You have said before that you love handwritten letters. Has anyone written you a love letter?
Every time I want to wish someone, I give a handwritten something. I just think notes are so classy and personal. When I was 12 years old, a really sweet guy… must have been 13 or 14… wrote me a letter. It was completely illegible… it was such bad handwriting. But it was sweet… it was my first love letter. It was like… I love you. We were too young.
HIM & HER
One dressed head-to-toe in ethnic finery. The other casual with a capital C. Sonam Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. The leading man of Mausam sums up the contrast: “Sonam aur main lag rahe hain Kashmir aur Kanyakumari!” “Why didn’t you wear a kurta?” quizzes Sonam.... While the Kapoor kudi professes her love for begun bhaja, Shahid feels luchi sounds a lot like “luchcha lafanga!” Beyond the banter is a bond. A very visible one. He takes her trip and she plays along. “We’ve become good friends,” Shahid smiles.
sonam’s favourite romantic films
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Mughal-e-Azam
• Romeo & Juliet (Franco Zeffirelli)
• Pyaasa: I loved Devdas as a story and Pyaasa is a lot like Devdas. Very similar. The interpretation was so beautiful. I love Jaane kya tune… I love Waheeda Rehman.
• Avatar: Stunningly romantic.
