Any conversation with Sonam Kapoor has to start with the question the late Joan Rivers made popular: ‘Who are you wearing?’ “This is a Prabal (Gurung) dress and Dior bag,” says the fashionista as we sit down to chat at the Anil Kapoor Film Company Limited office in Mumbai’s Juhu. Over a bowl of butter popcorn and tea, Sonam chats about her Friday film Khoobsurat and working with sister Rhea, her girl crush on Katrina Kaif and, yes, Deepika Padukone.

I believe it was Rhea’s idea to remake Khoobsurat. Did she share with you why she thought it would be perfect for you?

I don’t know… I guess she thought I fit the role. When you see the film, you’ll see that we have all been typecast in the film — Fawad (Khan), Ratna ma’am (Pathak Shah), Kirron Kher and I. They have taken certain personality traits of ours and exploited them (laughs).

After Aisha, this is your second film with Rhea as producer and she is also a part of your style team. What works for your working relationship?

Errrmmm… I guess we understand each other and are the perfect foil to each other. She is pragmatic and practical… I am emotional and impulsive. It’s a great fit because for things to work you need a heart-and-heart combination. We are also each other’s best friends and we understand each other. We are great partners… ya!

How do you find a middle ground when you disagree?

We argue… and one of us sees sense by the end of it. It’s like any other normal working relationship. We don’t take our work home… I mean, we do talk about work at home late into the nights, but once we finish arguing, we are really good at going back to normal. We know how to separate our two relationships.

What are the things that Rhea and you would normally end up disagreeing on?

Well, there are lots of things… stupid things like a certain scene or a technician or actor. We have different tastes and takes on things. We are two very different individuals.

Fawad told t2 that he was told you could be intimidating to work with. I remember Ayushmann Khurrana, who starred with you in Bewakoofiyaan, said something very similar. Why?

I don’t know, man! I am not at all intimidating! I don’t know… maybe it’s because I am a strong personality. I don’t mince words. People don’t know what I am going to say… I guess that’s what it is. I don’t know what it is about me that would intimidate someone... (pauses) I guess, that’s why guys don’t hit on me! (Laughs out loud) Now that makes sense!

We hear the tables were turned when you were shooting with Salman Khan for Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo…

(Laughs) I am so embarrassed about all the interviews I did in the past where I gushed about Salman. I knew that there will come a time when I will work with him and I won’t be able to face him. And that’s exactly what has happened. In the last seven-eight years, I have gushed so much about Salman. ‘Oh my gawd... he is so hot’. ‘He smells so good’ (giggles)... and then, suddenly, you are working with him. I am like: ‘Oh my gawd... I hope he hasn’t read my interviews because I am gonna die’. But I presume he hasn’t read any of them because he hasn’t mentioned anything! (Laughs)

You have been shooting the film for almost a month. Has working with him been everything you had imagined it to be?

Ya…. He is extremely professional and hard-working. He is so charming and so thoughtful. We all eat lunch together. He is very gracious and big-hearted. I don’t think I have ever seen him be rude to anyone… ever… which is amazing, you know. He is the first person I have met in this business with such incredible EQ (emotional quotient). He is sensitive to what people are feeling. He will never say anything to hurt anyone.

What is incredibly scary about people with such high EQ is that they know exactly what would really hurt someone but he never uses that power. There is a reason why people love him so much. I believe that the audience sees the goodness in a person… it’s always in the eyes and the audience is not dumb. They understand Salman’s goodness.

The perception in the industry is that Sooraj Barjatya (director of Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo) is an old-school filmmaker…

He is not at all old-school. His ideas are very entrenched in Indian culture, but I’ve never been on a more organised and focused film set. His set is like a well-oiled machine. It’s not like the script is written on the set… everything is planned so well. It’s like working on a Hollywood film.

Recently in a Twitter interview you mentioned that you have a girl crush on Katrina Kaif!

Ya…. They asked who my girl crush is and I think Katrina is really hot… she is hot! The amazing thing about Katrina is that girls over the years start looking hard, but when she smiles she still looks like a young, innocent girl. You know… cynicism sets into their face and girls tend to lose that innocence. The combination of being cute and sexy is really hot. There is a reason children like Katrina Kaif.

Over the years, Bollywood has believed that two actresses can’t be friends or can’t praise each other... People have this misconception about women in general… not just actresses. It’s all man created.

There was so much written about Deepika Padukone and you being friends when you appeared together on Koffee With Karan two seasons ago and the subsequent ‘fall out’.

There was never a great friendship. We are civil with each other. We just got along on the show. But I am very close to Jacqueline (Fernandez) and Asin. I am also very fond of Alia (Bhatt) and I have grown up with Shraddha (Kapoor) and Sonakshi (Sinha). I am fond of all these girls. I feel there is less competition between women than between men. For sure… there are very few actresses, but there are lots of actors. That’s what I feel.

Karishma Upadhyay
Do you agree with Sonam that Katrina is cute and sexy? Tell t2@abp.in