Siddharth Anand’s War has leading men – Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff riding high-speed bike, jumping off planes and pummelling baddies into the ground. Though Vaani Kapoor, the film’s leading lady, has been excluded from all that high-octane action fun, she got to display her own mind-blowing acts of athleticism. “My action is on the cyr wheel and the swing pole,” she explains, referring to the two acrobatic acts she mastered for the song ‘ Ghungroo ’.
Nailing the moves
It took a gruelling 40-day training schedule for Kapoor to nail the moves. “It was just so challenging and really made me push my limits. The swing pole segment that you see in the song requires a lot of arm strength; there’s no harness or support. The first time I did it, I couldn't push my body against it, rotate and take a ride off it. It’s just so hard, so I did a lot of weight training to get that body strength. For the cyr wheel, I needed to do balance training,” she says.
Vaani Kapoor says the 'War' shoot "pushed her limits"
War , the latest Yash Raj production, is Kapoor’s third film. And, while it’s a two-hero action-thriller, the actor is insists that her character has a very pivotal role in this spy film. “It’s a role that’s so critically inked to the storyline of the film. I'm actually very grateful to Sid [Siddharth Anand] to even consider me for a part like this. It may be a smaller part, which is okay because I don’t judge an actor’s performance by the duration of the part in the film.” While she doesn’t say much about the character, afraid that she might give away spoiler, Kapoor describes her character as ‘a very relatable girl, even though she's independent and strong headed’.
The film pairs the actor opposite Roshan, who she is working with for the first time. “I was, of course, clueless, about how Hrithik would be as a co-actor and I asked people who had worked with him before. Sid, who’s worked with him before told me that he’s a chilled guy and easy to work with. He wasn’t wrong. Hrithik is such a delight to work with. I had so much fun, was relaxed and easy and didn’t have to worry about the fact that I’m working with someone who’s a legend in his own way.” Kapoor doesn’t share any scenes with Shroff but they ‘hung out otherwise’ while shooting for the film in Italy. “He’s very polite, humble and down to earth. He’s a regular guy who works really hard. He wakes up super early and sleeps on time, is super strict with his diet.”
Both Roshan and Shroff are among the fittest men in the industry and War required that Kapoor also morph her body into physical perfection. “I was very fit in Befikre as well, but then I just let go because I wasn’t doing a project. It’s not like I went completely out of shape but I was eating everything,” she remembers. About three months before she had to start shooting War, Kapoor had costume trials and saw the outfits she was meant to wear. “That’s when I started worrying about my thunder thighs.” She hit the gym with a vengeance doing a combination of Pilates, weight training and cardio twice a day.
Ups and downs
Kapoor, who grew up in Delhi and studied to work in the hospitality business, before modeling came her way, made her big screen debut in YRF’s Shuddh Desi Romance (2013). As Tara, a young girl left at the altar, Vaani sparkled in the romcom. Befikre , which came three years after, was meant to be Kapoor’s big relaunch. It was touted to be the reclusive director Aditya Chopra’s take on a modern love story. What was meant to be one of the biggest releases of 2016 sank at the box office and Kapoor was criticised for her appearance.
“I’ve realised, as an actor, you have to grow a thick skin,” the 30-year-old says with a shrug when asked about who she dealt with personal jabs and jokes. “I honestly believe we’re spiritual beings having human experiences. And we cannot break ourselves down and beat ourselves up every single day of our lives, because of any particular incident. We have to be mature, grow, let go of things and look at the brighter side.”
As she gears up for War ’s release, Kapoor would rather focus on the bright side of life. After all, ‘you can’t make everybody happy’. The silver lining for her is that Befikre gave her an opportunity to work alongside Ranveer Singh and be directed by her mentor Chopra. “It’s an experience I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” she asserts.
