Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Recently in an interview, Sonam Kapoor’s Khoobsurat co-star Fawad Khan said he was told that she could be intimidating to work with. Interestingly, Ayushmann Khurrana, who starred with the actress in her last release Bewakoofiyaan, said something very similar. The 29-year-old can’t understand why anyone would think of her as ‘intimidating’. “I don’t know, man. I am not at all intimidating. I don’t know… maybe it’s because I am a strong personality. I don’t mince words. People don’t know what I am going to say… I guess that’s what it is. I don’t know what it is about me that would intimidate someone,” she wonders aloud, before adding, “I guess, that’s why guys don’t hit on me. Now that makes sense.”
The tables turned when Sonam turned up on the sets of Sooraj Bharjatiya’s Prem Ratan DhanPaayo opposite her childhood crush Salman Khan. “I am so embarrassed about all the interviews I did in the past where I gushed about Salman. I knew that there will come a time when I will work with him and I won’t be able to face him. And that’s exactly what has happened. In the last seven-eight years… I have gushed so much about Salman. ‘Oh my Gawd! He is so hot’. ‘He smells so good’,” she giggles. Though Sonam did work with Salman in her debut film Saawariya, this is the first time she is starring opposite the Khan. “Now that I am working with him. I am like ‘Oh my Gawd! I hope he hasn’t read my interviews because I am gonna die.’ But I presume he hasn’t read any of them because he hasn’t mentioned anything,” she says with a laugh.
After a month of shooting Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, working with Salman has been all that Sonam has always imagined it to be. “He is extremely professional and hardworking. He is so charming and thoughtful. We all eat lunch together. He is very gracious and big-hearted. I don’t think I have ever seen him be rude to anyone… ever… which is amazing. He is the first person I have met with such incredible EQ in this business. He is sensitive to what people are feeling. He will never say anything to hurt anyone. What is incredibly scary about people with such high EQ is that they know exactly what would really hurt someone, but he never uses that power. There is a reason why people love him so much. I believe that the audience see the goodness in a person… it’s always in the eyes and the audience is not dumb. They understand Salman’s goodness.”
While Prem Ratan will only release in 2015, Sonam is back in theatres next week with Disney’s remake of the Rekha-starrer Khoobsurat. It was her elder sister Rhea, also the executive producer of the film, who decided to remake the 1980 film which was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. “When you see the film, you’ll see that we have all been typecast in the film —Fawad (Khan), Ratna ma’m (Pathak Shah), Kirron Kher and I. They have taken certain personality traits of ours and exploited them.”
After the romcom Aisha, this is the second Sonam film that has Rhea as a producer. With Rhea an integral part of Sonam’s style team, the sisters work very closely otherwise as well. “We understand each other and are the perfect foil to each other. She is pragmatic and practical, I am emotional and impulsive. It’s a great fit because for things to work you need a head and heart combination. We are also each other’s best friends and understand each other. We are great partners.”
Talking of friendships, it’s only natural to quiz the actress about her much-written friendship with Deepika Padukone (that was seen on Koffee With Karan a few seasons ago) and the subsequent falling out. “There was never a great friendship. We are civil with each other. We just got along on the show. But I am very close to Jacqueline (Fernandez) and Asin. I am also very fond of Alia and I have grown up with Shraddha (Kapoor) and Sonakshi (Sinha). I am fond of all of these girls. I feel there is less completion between women than between men. For sure, there are very few actresses but there are lots of actors. That’s what I feel.”
