Bollywood's rising star Sonam Kapoor was recently in Dubai to unveil the latest collection by jeweller Nirav Modi. And, instead of us doing the grilling, we handed Modi the task of extracting the best out of Kapoor.
Daughter of the famous actor-producer Anil Kapoor, the star reveals her marriage plans (she sees herself hitched in five to seven years), her first pay cheque and more.
Excerpts from the interview:
Before you began acting, you were into directing. How did directing happen and what made you get into acting?
I never wanted to act. In my mum's side of the family, they were all into banking, engineering or economics. Acting or directing a film was not something they did. Meanwhile, in my dad's side of the family, it was only my father who was into acting — the rest were mostly producers. . On my part, I studied economics and history. And I had plans to go to LSE [London School Of Economics], but my mother thought I was too young to go abroad and study. That's when I met Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I was 17 then and I thought I had a year before I went off to the university. My mother at that point was insistent that I work in a bank, but I put my foot down saying I had the rest of my life to do that. And the first day I met Sanjay, he said that he wanted to cast me in his film. But at that point I told him I wanted to direct and not act. For three years, I stuck to my point. But one day, out of the blue he was like: "I won't make this film if you are not in it." And at that point, I said yes —more of a lark. From that moment on, I was hooked.
That's a great lark - very successful. You are an actress as well as a fashion icon. How did that come about?
My mum is a fashion and jewellery designer and my maasi [aunt] is an interior decorator and she collects art. So I have grown up watching them collect clothes and paintings. So, I have always grown up with the finer things in life and therefore I love wearing nice things. And gradually it became a passion. It's all about inheritance. I think it's all in the blood.
How do you choose your jewellery?
Four years ago, my dad made me a tennis bracelet and I lost it in two months. Before that tragedy, my mother had presented me a Cartier bracelet for my 16th birthday. I lost that too. You see, I have a thing for losing stuff that is presented by others. Surprisingly, whenever I buy a piece myself, I manage to keep it safe. Following the tennis bracelet incident, I decided that I will never let my dad buy me jewellery. The fact is that I love the best things that life has to offer. And jewellery is something that you can treasure for generations. In my head, jewels, property and paintings are the three things in life that I love to collect. I am a typical Sindhi in that respect. Having said that, I am very particular about the brands I endorse. I can only sell something that I really believe in.
So you have expensive tastes.
Absolutely. My mum keeps telling me that I should marry somebody rich but then I tell her that I am perfectly capable of buying stuff for myself. When I get married I will get coloured diamonds for the ring and the necklace.
Sounds like a good plan, be sure to hand him my brochure. So what's next for you?
Eventually after I stop acting, I want to design jewellery and clothes. My mother has all the set-up established already. The kaarigars [craftsmen] are already in place, so it will be easy for me to get into it. I even know the lingo that they all speak in.
It's not just jewels that interest me, I love paintings. Unlike other 26-year-olds I know my Jahangir Sabavala from a Manjeet Bawa [celebrated Indian artists]. The fact remains that I have been brought up in such an environment. With my first pay cheque I bought a Manjeet Bawa painting — he usually never paints portraits of ladies but the one I got was a rare one. And guess what, I know all the art gossip. Your taste mostly comes from what your parents condition you to. It all just boils down to that. On the film front, my trailers of Players has just been released and I am looking forward to the thriller directed by Abbas Mustan with Abhishek Bachchan.
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