I’m no longer the girl next door! Bollywood Insider Speaks to Shraddha Kapoor
BY JANHAVI SAMANT: She is the quintessential girl next door. With her dewy fresh look and innocently charming ways, Shraddha Kapoor has quickly notched up a humongous fan following. Shraddha was literally born with cinema in her DNA—father Shakti Kapoor is the notorious villain of Bollywood while her aunts Padmini and Tejaswani Kolhapure are both actors. Her mother, Shivangi and her maternal grandfather are classical singers, besides being related to legendary Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle—from where she derives her singing prowess. Besides, being an exemplary actor, she is an accomplished singer as well, having sung for quite a few songs in her own movies.
Always a bright child, but tomboyish, Shraddha loved taking on challenges even when at school, acting in plays and competing in dance competitions. She secured admission to Boston University and planned to study psychology but then Bollywood beckoned with a role in the movie Teen Batti. While the movie did not do very well, her work was commendable. Her big break came with the Mohit Suri directed Aashiqui 2 and since then there has been no looking back for Shraddha.
She will be seen playing Haseena Parkar, the sister of dreaded don Dawood Ibrahim, in Apoorva Lakhia’s upcoming flick Haseena alongside her brother Sidhant, who plays Dawood. Photographs depicting Shraddha in two striking avatars of a teenager and a 45-year-old woman have amazed B-town. She will also play the role of the ace badminton player Saina Nehwal in her biopic, titled Saina. Shraddha took to Twitter to share the news and said she is honored to be given the opportunity to essay the star shuttler on the big screen. The 30-year-old actress feels that Saina—directed by Amol Gupte—will be her most difficult film till date. “The preparation for this film is going to be very, very challenging. It’s probably going to be my most difficult film till date... Wish me luck, everyone,” she posted on Twitter.
In her latest movie Half Girlfriend, she is only willing to be the half girlfriend to a boy (played by Arjun Kapoor), who is head over heels in love with her. She reveals more in a very candid interview with BOLLYWOOD INSIDER.
The way modern relationships are evolving, what is your take on Half Girlfriend as a concept?
Let me reveal something from own life experience. I feel I have been in that position where I have not wanted to fully commit myself, I have told that person that I like him, but cannot go beyond that. The reason could have been that I may not have had time to give to that relationship. In fact, my friends have also been in that situation, where you are kind of with a person, but not really with them...
Does that come from a point of being unwilling to commit?
If I relate it to the film, my character Riya tells Madhav (Arjun’s character) that she would not be able to commit to the relationship because something happened in her life which has shaken her belief in love; but he is deeply in love with her. The irony of it is that there is this girl who is so rich, she travels in a good car, she is popular in college and so people just assume that she must be very happy. But for her, happiness is in the little things in life, like the first rain shower.
Half Girlfriend is your third movie with Mohit Suri. Do you share a good rapport with him?
Yes, this is my third film with Mohit and people ask us if we have a hit formula. It’s just that there is a comfort level, he is a good friend and he offers me such memorable characters.
Does your own happiness lie in little things?
In my case, it’s only the little things in life that matter …I believe what goes up must come down, success is transient.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I’m taking each day as it comes. I feel you can’t predict and plan too much; sometimes you need to go with the flow.
But today, there seems to be a lot of stress on positioning, image etc; does that affect you as well?
I can’t speak for others; I’ve always taken one thing at a time. There is always the intention of doing good work above all. I had made a list of directors I want to work with, I still have it but I don’t really look at it. Now I feel that why should I restrict myself to that list. I look at the script and other considerations before signing on for a movie.
Do you go by your gut feeling when taking up a role?
Even though my last two films didn’t do very well at the box office, my gut told me to take them on. When signing a film I consider whether I will be happy when I’m shooting this for the next 80 days or a will I be driven crazy doing this in a 20-hour shoot.
Tell us about your next film Haseena. It’s quite different from your usual milieu of films and you are looking stunning.
The experience of shooting for Haseena has been one of a kind! Of course, every film is unique but this is the first time I’m playing a grey shaded character; also my character goes through different ages and phases of life from a 17-year-old to a 45-year-old woman with children. I’m no longer the girl next door!
