Sonam Kapoor strikes a stylish pose at the inauguration of India International Jewellery Week in Mumbai

Presidency Co. Op Housing Society Ltd, JVPD Scheme, Juhu — that’s Sonam Kapoor’s bungalow nestled in a quiet lane. Crossing a lush green canopy, you walk into a treasure trove of antique silver and expensive art on the second floor, which the Aisha actress ambles into in a Vero Moda dress and Gap sweater. After a half-hour chat, t2 gets to know two Sonams: the star who doesn’t mince words, and a giggling 26-year-old girl-next-door.

There’s a lot of art and silver artefacts around. Do you love art?

I love art. With my first pay cheque, I got a Manjit Bawa for myself. Shakti Burman, Jehangir Sabavala, Manjit Bawa, S.H. Raza, Raja Ravi Varma…. I try to pick up silver antiques but my mom does most of it. I pick up clothes more!

Define Sonam Kapoor…

My god! Hmm… I don’t know how to define myself… just like a Juhu girl… hmm… happy, loves food, loves her friends, chills with her friends… that’s it. There’s not much to me. And I am a little cracked!

So, what is the most ‘cracked’ thing you have done?

I don’t know… it is on an everyday basis. I don’t think what I do is crazy, but everybody around me thinks that I do crazy things. I shoot my mouth off quite a bit, but not anymore. I have stopped doing that... because I don’t think before I speak or even if I do think, I really don’t give a damn. But I don’t think I am nasty about anybody.

One thing you love about yourself…

I can be by myself. Matlab I don’t need to socialise too much. I think that’s good. I can be in my own space. I am very happy with my small group of friends.

Do you reach out to them for advice?

People who work with me, I make them my friends. My make-up artist, my managers, they are all friends. They tell me when I am going wrong... it is important. You cannot have sycophants around you. You need people who actually tell you the truth.

Is there anything about you that you would like to change?

Hmm… maybe become a little more ambitious. Everybody is telling me that I am not… that will be nice.

What has been your best professional moment till now?

I think it was the release of Aisha. The kind of fan following I got after that, as far as women and girls are concerned... unprecedented! Everywhere I go, there are little girls calling me Aisha. It was meant for that audience. Not intellectuals. It was a chick flick… meant for little girls, aged 13 to 14.

Your best personal moment…

When my dad’s (Anil Kapoor) international thing (happened). It was quite cool.... Personally, it was a great time for the family because he has achieved whatever he could achieve in India and now he is conquering the world, which is pretty cool! I finished watching 24 and I am waiting for MI4 and Cities. I would love to see Mission: Impossible 4 (Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol) where all the five villains have small cameos. What I am really looking forward to is Cities, where he is a parallel lead, and it is incredible! It is about cops and stuff. So, I am quite excited about that.

What was the first Anil Kapoor film you watched?

It was Mr. India. I must have been eight! I watched it way after I was born — Mr. India released in 1987 and I was born in 1985.

What was it like watching your father on the big screen for the first time?

I did not identify him as my dad. (The character was) Very cool! I liked the fact that he disappeared. I remember for my first birthday, I wanted to wear the Mr. India costume. Everybody was in frocks and I was in a brown hat. I also have a picture with cake all over my face. I had that watch also… the real one, which was used as costume. It obviously did not make me disappear!

Do you remember your first set visit?

Well, usually mom (Sunita Kapoor) did not allow me to go. If she was out of town and my dad had to suddenly go shooting and he had to baby-sit me, I would go to his sets. The first time I went to his set was during Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. He was shooting for Romeo naam mera and I remember he was on stage and I needed my laces tied. I refused to let anybody else tie my laces. At that time we did not have help. I was like, ‘No. My dad has to tie my laces!’ I was with one of the ADs (assistant director). I threw the biggest tantrum! He had to cut a shot in the middle and tie my laces (giggles). I was a brat!

Which film made you want to become an actress?

Black. Because I was assisting on it. Before that I did not want to be an actress. When I started assisting on Black, I realised that I was more interested in what was happening in front of the camera than behind it. So, I said, let’s act.

How is Mausam shaping up?

I have come into my own in Mausam, I think. I have really been educated by Pankaj (Kapur) Sir in a lot of ways. I have learnt how to deal with tough situations through Mausam. My character’s name is Aayat. She is a Kashmiri Muslim. And she has gone through a lot of tough times... seeing her house getting destroyed and losing a lot of her family. She comes down to Chandigarh and she meets this boy. She goes through a lot of loss, at the same time she is this very still person. But you realise that still waters run very deep. She has a lot of emotions in her, a lot of love in her. But she is not a volatile person. She is very calm, smooth and happy.

She just loves this one man (Shahid Kapoor) and wants to be with him. So she waits for him. She doesn’t lose hope despite the hardship she has gone through.

What are your favourite Pankaj Kapur films? What tips did he share with you?

I guess Dharm and Maqbool… two brilliant films. What he taught me was patience. He was going through a lot of hassles during the making of Mausam. But he never lost sight of what he was supposed to do — make a beautiful film. What I learned from him was never to compromise on your work and be very patient. And good things come to good people and if you work hard enough, things just happen.

How different are the father and the son?

Shahid is extremely hard-working, extremely intelligent. But he is a completely different actor from Pankaj Sir. They are two very different people. Shahid is more used to the new-age way of working. He wants everything to be done quickly. He wants to walk fast and he wants to talk fast because that’s how we naturally do it. But Pankaj Sir takes his time doing everything. So, in the first 10 months, maybe they had a little bit of like… trying to adjust with each other… but eventually Shahid got it because he is such a quick learner... so respectful of his father.

What about Players?

Players is The Italian Job. We bought the rights for the old Italian Job. It is a revenge story. It is a heist. It is this girl trying to get revenge for the death of her father.

So, are you consciously trying to do different things as an actress?

Yes, I am consciously trying to do different characters in one go. You know what happened with Delhi-6, Saawariya, Aisha and I Hate Luv Storys is that Delhi-6 and Saawariya came together and I Hate Luv Storys and Aisha came together. So, during Delhi-6 and Saawariya, everybody was like, ‘Oh, she is so Indian and she is an actor!’ During I Hate Luv Storys and Aisha, people were like, ‘Oh, she is a really fashionable girl and really pretty and a new-age girl!’ People started identifying me with the character, instead of identifying me with who I am. And I guess that’s a job well done. But at the same time, I don’t want it to be a set character. I guess I did Mausam and Players together so that there is a contrast, saying I can do this and also do that. Audience and the media have very short-term memory. So they don’t remember my Delhi-6 role and they immediately identify me with Aisha and the clothes that I wear. They can’t differentiate. It is the way of the world.

How do you deal with the constant carping that you are more about fashion covers than meaty roles?

I don’t find it irritating at all. Magazines? I don’t think I do that many. If you see the amount of magazines that I do compared to every other actress, maybe they are doing more than I am. Endorsements also… I have four endorsements. Everybody else has 15. But I guess each magazine cover makes such an impact that people remember it and they think I have done lots. But in the past one year, I have done two magazine covers, whereas any other actress maybe four or five. People recycle my pictures and use them on covers because the magazine sells. But I have made it a point to do only important covers. I’ll either do an anniversary issue or a September issue or a wedding issue or it has to be near my film release. I may do four or five magazine covers a year, as opposed to any other heroine who does 12 or 13, but it stays in people’s minds.

Are you a jewellery person?

I do love jewellery, my mom being a jewellery designer. Diamonds and every other piece of jewellery are a girl’s best friend. When I see my mum designing, I am like ‘I want that!’ I love jewellery and accessorising. We have such great kaarigars and we have the best jewels and gems in our country. Most of the big jewellery designers abroad use our kaarigars for their designs. So, if we have that in our country, then why can’t we become a global phenomenon where jewellery is concerned? So, we are trying to promote that through gem and jewellery council (The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council recently organised India International Jewellery Week in Mumbai with Sonam as brand ambassador).

What’s your favourite gem?

Diamonds. I love the colour D.

Day versus evening jewellery?

I wear very little jewellery during the day. At night, I go all out.

Your sister Rhea is styling you for Players…

Well, the thing is when someone else was styling me, I used to end up doing the stuff myself because I have a very specific way of dressing. With my sister, she knows what I want and she has impeccable taste. Maybe even better than mine. With her, I don’t need to think too much. I just have to put on the clothes. Everybody else… it was too much of a headache you know.... With (fashion designer) Anamika (Khanna), I just need to ask her to make something and I know it is going to turn out brilliant. And now there are two or three new designers, like Atsu, from Calcutta, who are fantastic. Actually Calcutta has really fantastic designers. There are three-four designers I am very fond of and they know what I want. With Anamika, with Rhea, to a certain extent with Manish Malhotra... and Anuradha Vakil.

If you ever turn designer, what will your line be like?

I don’t think I would do something which is really high fashion or couture. I have realised that young girls like dressing up but it is not affordable fashion that we get. I would do a high-street line.