Bollywood actress and fashionista Sonam Kapoor claims she has always been a misfit. But it’s difficult to take her words seriously. Dressed stylishly in a Missoni creation, her hair piled high in a neat chignon, with smoky eyes and gigantic gold studs, she looks like she came straight out of a fashion glossy.
“When I joined the industry, I used to dress in a way that people did not. At the risk of sounding immodest, I started trends because I did not wear those Swarovski saris with bikini bras or those short dresses with high heels,” says Kapoor, who stars in Walt Disney Pictures’ first Bollywood film, Khoobsurat, out in the UAE this Thursday. Luckily for her, she believes she was embraced for being different.
“I have been choosing roles that nobody else would have chosen to do. I say things that nobody else would dare say. I take up causes that no-one else will take up. Whether it is LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] community or about certain politics I am not ok with. I don’t believe in going down the beaten path. I set trends,” says Kapoor, who recently supported the need for more Bollywood gay-themed love stories and famously remarked on a chat show that: “If you look like ordinary and act loud, doesn’t mean you are a good actor.”
Khoobsurat, however, is no revolutionary love story — it draws heavily from Disney’s triumphant, squeaky-clean and traditional Princess-meets-her Prince Charming formula.
The daughter of actor Anil Kapoor plays Dr Mili Chakravarty, a middle-class physiotherapist from Delhi. She’s sent to Rajasthan to treat a royal family member, paraplegic Shekhar Rathore. But during her stay in the palace, Mili charms her way into their classy, but no-fun lives — including into the heart of the dapper modern-day prince Vikram Singh (Fawad Khan).
But are these love stories relevant today? The Hindi film industry is going through an interesting phase where actresses are taking on wild, dark roles (Deepika Padukone as a troubled party girl in Cocktail) and fantastical films are giving way to gritty and edgier films (Gangs Of Wasseypur, Barfi!). But it would be depressing if family entertainers lost their appeal, says Kapoor.
“I hope it’s still relevant because I have grown up on family movies. In India, the realities of life are so harsh that you need some hope. If you are going to spend Rs250 [Dh15] on a ticket, they may want to feel good about life. Maybe, even feel that a poor girl from Delhi can go to a royal family and spread happiness.”
Pakistani actor Khan, who makes his Bollywood debut with Khoobsurat, calls it a clean and romantic film that dwells on the happily-ever-after endings. The characters have an old-world charm to them, he adds.
“Mili isn’t a clone of the manufactured girls of today… she has this zest for life and believes being different is not bad and can be embraced. With this film, I say you can be who you are… there are lots of young girls who don’t have those examples anymore,” adds Kapoor.
Directed by Shashanka Ghosh and co-produced by Kapoor’s sister Rhea, the film may even double up as an image re-branding exercise.
“My sister Rhea felt that after Aisha [Bollywood’s answer to Clueless and Emma, produced by Rhea], she had done me a little disservice because everybody started thinking that I was a spoilt, rich brat. The audiences and the media couldn’t differentiate between the real person and the person on screen. But Aisha is not at all like me. I started earning when I was 17 years old and I am not desperate to get married either. I don’t want to people to think I am that.”
For a person who propagates tolerance and acceptance, making a film to obliterate and re-create her image may seem desperate, but Kapoor is convinced that this film will revive the genre of feel-good, uncomplicated films.
“It’s an ode to the classic Khoobsurat and a tribute to films such as such as Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Guddi or Sooraj Bharjatya’s family-value films. But, we purchased the Khoobsurat rights just to be on the safe side,” said Kapoor. The 1980 original hit starred Rekha.
Kapoor, who will soon begin working with Salman Khan in Do Ratan Dhan Payo, has an uneven career trajectory. Out of 11 films since her debut in Sanjay Leala Bhansali’s Saawariya in 2007, only a handful, such as Raanjanha and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, have done brisk box-office business. The focus is often on what she wore on the red carpet rather than how she delivered her lines in her films. But looking chic is not what Mili her character does.
“It is like a rainbow threw up on me… There isn’t much scope for fashion in Khoobsurat. Stylist Karuna Laungani has designed my look. The idea was to be as colourful and crazy as possible. We mixed a lot of prints. There’s nothing conventional or clean about my look. I wear colours that clash and hair that’s messy. There’s hardly any make-up and lots of exercise clothes are featured. So it’s comfort over style,” But the biggest challenge was to look clumsy on cue.
“Being clumsy on cue in movies require grace and coordination. If comedy requires perfect timing, looking haphazard means you need to have your limbs in place. Physical comedy is difficult for me because I have only done dramas like Raanjanha, Bewakoofiyaan and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag … the irony is that I am extremely clumsy in real life. I am either falling or saying the wrong things. My PR and marketing teams go crazy with me.” For actor Khan, switching from Urdu to Hindi and getting the accent right was a problem.
“I couldn’t improvise much, but I know how to walk the walk,” said Khan. Both claim that they have a “good gut feeling” about their romance. Their film clashes with Parineeti Chopra and Aditya Roy Kapur’s film Daawat-e-Ishq, which releases on the same day, but Kapoor isn’t worried.
“I was in Dubai when Don and Jaan-e-Man released on the same day. I watched it back to back. And our producer Siddharth Roy Kapur is Aditya’s brother. So personally, I would love to see both. If I can be a bit selfish, Khoobsurat will be cuter,” said Kapoor with a laugh.
“Even Lagaan and Gadar released on the same day. I have been brought up in the film industry and have realised that if it’s a good film, people will watch it. I am not going to disregard or diss someone’s film. That’s not me.”
