Ahead of the release of her single next month, Shekhar Kapur's daughter Kaveri says music will always be the centre of her world; father calls her a 'genius'
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; January 21, 2019)

When Shekhar Kapur's musician-daughter approached him with a request to direct her upcoming video, the filmmaker recalls being disturbed. "She's 17, and I wanted to know where those words came from," says Kapur, of Kaveri's song Smell Of The Rain.

"She told me that it's about how most of the mistakes that people make are because they reject their dark side. I knew then that I'd have to take it seriously." Shekhar took inspiration from Kerela's Kathakali dance form, which, he says, represents demons too. "I wrote a story of a young girl who tries to run away from her dark side. She then accepts it, and finally becomes it."

In an Instagram video shared in the midst of shoot, Shekhar trains his camera on an evidently shy Kaveri as she learns the ropes of the dance. "I was comfortable this time, but, I've found it hard to face the camera. Yet, dad has always wanted me to act," she says.

Like every teenager, Suchitra Krishnamoorthi's daughter too harboured aspirations of dabbling in a variety of professions. "A geologist and an astronaut," she says. "An archaeologist," her father adds. Yet, music has held a special place in her heart since she was eight. Confessing to sharing many similarities with her father, she says, "I know dad must have faced the same things at my age that I do, including apprehensions about the future, confusion about who you are, and even heartbreak. I talk to him about it all the time."

A student of Hindustani classical music, Kaveri spent a summer learning at Berklee College Of Music. "I've also applied to music schools now. I believe that should complete my education."

Certain that his daughter would make for a promising actor, Shekhar doesn't think twice before pitting her against the likes of Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger when stating, "Working with actors like them, I've noticed how they tell a story with their eyes. Kaveri has that ability. What scares me is when people like A R Rahman say she has a gift. She is a genius. It made me realise that I have a special responsibility to support her. I'm not as gifted in filmmaking as she is in music."

Ask him how his daughter differs from him and he says, "Look, at 17, I was only chasing girls."