The dimly-lit orange lights give off a warm glow, as a visibly tired Vaani Kapoor sits on the lone couch in her room at Yash Raj Studios. Although drained after having shot at length for Bigg Boss the previous night, she immediately perks up at the mention of Befikre , her upcoming film.
“ Befikre is about people like you and me, and everybody else. It’s about a modern contemporary couple, who live their lives in an uninhibited manner, without repressing their choices, thoughts and way of living,” she says.
Tagging Dharam and Shyra, the protagonists, as a carefree couple, the film has a very fresh take on relationships, she says. Kapoor plays Shyra, a professional tour guide in Paris, and confesses to being completely taken in by her character. “I would absolutely want to be someone like her. I’m so inspired by her, that I’ve merged Vaani and Shyra into one person, now.”
Free-spirited woman
Those who have watched the trailers of the film know that Shyra is a free-spirited young woman. Kapoor is in sync with this image of her on-screen character. “We are usually repressed by certain pressures imposed upon us by society. Shyra is unapologetic about the way she is, and there is actually no need to be apologetic about who you are,” says Kapoor.
The fluent French that Kapoor speaks in the trailers of Befikre did not come to her naturally, although it might seem so. Kapoor enrolled in early-morning French classes in Paris to learn the language under director Aditya Chopra’s instructions. “I would invariably nod off during these sessions, and I never let Adi know,” she jokes. Kapoor also watched many French films, observed, and interacted with local residents to get the diction right.
Befikre is set in the magnificent locales of Paris, to the extent that the city is almost a third character in the film. Recounting her time in Paris as “amazing”, Kapoor lauds the citizens for their friendly and helpful nature. “Paris has had so much to give to the film, and it helped my creativity flow, which is otherwise quite difficult for me. You cannot help but fall in love with the city,” she says.
Asked about director Aditya Chopra, Kapoor’s voice takes on a reverential note as she talks about the man’s humility. “For someone of his stature, he is very down-to-earth. He makes it a point to be as approachable as possible,” she says. She also reveals Chopra’s lesser-known sense of humour, talking about the various times he pulled her leg on the sets, making her feel at home. “There was this term on the set: ‘Vaani-ism’; if ever I did something stupid, or made a fool of myself, Adi would immediately call it ‘Vaani-ism,” she says.
And what about her co-star Ranveer Singh? Kapoor is full of praise for her “crazy, hyper co-star”, and hopes to work with him again. “I have learnt so much from him; it is one thing seeing him as an audience and applauding his performance, and another to work alongside and see how seamless he is,” she says. Singh was his character Dharam throughout the filming of Befikre , she says.
In awe of Singh’s confidence and conviction, Kapoor also discloses a rarely-seen side to the actor: his kindness. “There have been times when he has been immensely caring and sweet. But I’ve never said this to his face; he hates being called sweet. He’ll probably bully me more for saying it.”
Stint in the south
Kapoor has two films to her credit, Maneesh Sharma’s 2013 film Shuddh Desi Romance and Aaha Kalyanam (2014) , the Tamil-Telugu remake of Sharma’s 2010 hit Band Baaja Baraat. Stepping into Southern territory after having done just one film, Kapoor says she took up Aaha Kalyanam on Chopra’s suggestion. “He felt it would be a good opportunity for me, and I was thrilled to be able to do the role in my way.” While learning a new language had been difficult, she managed to pull through with the help of her crew. “I am quite proud of myself to have done a film in a language so foreign to me.”
Kapoor is far from non-committal, that persona only exists on celluloid. While both Tara (Kapoor’s character in Shuddh Desi Romance ) and Shyra have been unorthodox in their quest for love, Kapoor accepts to being quite the opposite in her personal relationships. “I fall hard, when I fall in love, and I want to make it work. But there are a lot of things I have learnt from Shyra, and strangely, I’ve discovered a side to myself that I hope to keep for life,” says Kapoor.
She says Befikre is beyond the kisses it has been in the news for. The film is about those cute little moments in a relationship, that make it what it is, says Kapoor. Well, come Friday, we’ll know if it’s really just that.
The writer is an intern with The Hindu
