A popular actress, especially among teenagers, the fashionable Sonam Kapoor plays the unusual role of a con bride in her upcoming Dolly Ki Doli . Excerpts from her conversation:
In your forthcoming film, Dolly Ki Doli , we see you in a different light — it seems far removed from the fashionable characters you generally play. Do you have high hopes for it?
I think I have high hopes for all my films, including the recent Khoobsurat . Every film is a new journey, and hopefully, takes you somewhere in terms of career growth. This is yet another cinematic adventure for me, and I look forward to it.
How did you prepare to play the character of Dolly?
As you said, she is completely different from the characters I have played so far. While most people are either black or white, she is unapologetically grey. You do not resent her for who she is. She is like, this is who I am, and I cannot be any other way. It was difficult to play her as I couldn’t immediately associate myself with her.
Dolly is a UP girl, and so, my Raanjhanaa experience came in handy. My interactions with the writers of that film; my friend, actress Swara Bhaskar; and other people from the north helped me pick up Dolly’s way of speaking. I noticed that the locals have a style, a lehja … I tried adapting some of it for the role.
Your film choices in recent years — Raanjhanaa , Khoobsurat or Dolly Ki Doli — seem to have strayed away from the usual hero-heroine commercial format.
I don’t know how to respond to this really. I feel I have never really picked conventional, safe roles. I don’t believe I’m taking a risk, or experimenting. It’s satisfying though journalists like yourself or members of the audience ask me about my roles. I have seen interviews of other people (actresses), and they are usually not asked about their characters. I find it to be a bigger compliment when people tell me that they loved Dr. Milli (her character in Khoobsurat ), than when they tell me that they liked me in a Shah Rukh or a Salman Khan film.
I think that people realised after Raanjhanaa that my films were viable on account of the great opening they get. Even if it was a Rs. 3 crore or Rs. 4 crore opening, it was because of me. Of course, I would love to have a Rs. 300 crore film in the future, but at least now, I have the satisfaction of knowing that a Rs. 35 crore film happens because of my presence (smiles). Think about the business that Khoobsurat did. I am not taking away from Fawad (actor), or its director or producer. I am also not saying that if a Shah Rukh Khan film is very successful, it doesn’t mean that the actress, say Deepika Padukone, isn’t partly responsible. But I know that at the end of the day, the numbers garnered by my films are mine!
On the whole, 2014 was a great year for Bollywood actresses, wouldn’t you say? Do you think the trend will continue?
I hope so, I really do. I have been doing these different films for a long time now, and it’s great that a lot of other girls are making similar choices too. I hope Dolly Ki Doli makes money for its producer, so that I can keep doing these kinds of films.
Considering that you mention that your films make money because of you, what’s your opinion on heroes being paid significantly more than heroines?
Look, I know that if my film, say Aisha , has made money, my sister Rhea, the film’s producer, will pay me aptly. I take a percentage of profits. Most producers are willing to give that to me. As for the big, commercial films you talk about, I can’t quite tell as I haven’t been part of them for some time now. I can tell you, however, that in the last three years, I have been the highest paid (smiles). I’m doing the Sooraj Barjatya film, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo , opposite Salman Khan, due to a love for the story.
I don’t agree with complaining about lesser compensation though. If you feel you are being underpaid, then just don’t do the film!
I have refused endorsements with prestigious brands in the past as the money didn’t seem right. Actresses should stand for themselves, and not work with producers/directors who they believe to be underpaying.
