Sonam Kapoor-Ahuja on life after marriage, juggling life in 3 cities, and her intimate home that makes her happy
Sangeeta Wadhwani (TIMES LIFE; November 3, 2019)

Today, 11 years on and with noteworthy films, a home production, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja has the confidence to decide everything – from hair to make-up to camera angles, lights, footwear, body language for all her shoots.

The actor’s wedding last May led to a host of dreamlike bridal images being unleashed on her fans and friends. “So I’m basically living between London, Delhi and Dubai, but I guess that’s because the world has become so much smaller, travel has become so convenient. My life hasn’t changed that much post marriage as I was always travelling. I have mostly been living out of hotels since I was 17, but having a base in a city is more stabilising. Having a home in each of these cities has helped me feel more grounded,” she says.

Setting up a home, running it, being mistress of her own manor, was a change from simply moving cities. Says Sonam, “Setting up a home was interesting. But let me tell you it’s a small home. It’s just for my husband and I. I think it’s romantic, it’s intimate, and it feels great.”

Both Sonam’s mom, Sunita Kapoor, and her maternal aunt, Kavita Singh, are legendary homemakers, painstaking hostesses, with a highly-refined sense of aesthetics. As of now, she insists, “I think marriage is just a formality in our time – of course, it is a commitment. But I feel we were already committed to each other before we were married. Marriage was something that we did for our friends and family. So I don’t think our relationship has changed so much since the time we were dating. He (Anand Ahuja) was travelling to Mumbai a lot, and I was travelling to London and Delhi. So things were pretty much the same before marriage as well. And even now, he travels a lot, I travel a lot. But for the world, we are married and I notice that changes the way people see me. Like, I am getting asked these questions!” she laughs, heartily.

On that note, we travel away from all things personal, to Sonam’s TOP FIVES across a host of things stylish and lifestylish...

Courtesy: Hello!
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THE HIGH FIVES OF SONAM KAPOOR AHUJA…

FASHION MUST-HAVES
- High-waisted black trousers
- Saree
- Shawl – a nice pashmina or a nice Hermes scarf. I like accessories like that
- White shirt
- And a nice pair of ballerina flats or pointed toe flats and cool sneakers

OFFBEAT PLACES TO VISIT
- Kyoto, Japan Marrakech
- Leh, Ladakh
- Vietnam
- Wine country in California

FASHION FAUX PAS
- When your slip shows under your saree
- The wrong innerwear
- Wearing sandals without a pedicure
- Wearing clothes that don’t go with the weather, or the occasion
- I generally appreciate people who take care of themselves, in terms of how they look; it says a lot about how they see themselves in a social context

TRENDING SONGS ON YOUR PLAYLIST
- Senorita
- Taylor Swift’s Lover
- Songs by AR Rahman
- Songs by RD Burman

THINGS ON YOUR WISH-LIST THIS YEAR
- Since I feel I already have what I want, and am so grateful, I will make wishes for my loved ones! So first, for Rhea my sis, I hope her movie goes on the floor soon
- Second I hope she gets married soon, she’s been dating the same guy for many years, I hope they get married this year
- For dad (Anil Kapoor), he is going to be 62 this year, so I wish for him to have the same energy and exuberance that he has always had
- For my mom, I hope she is more relaxed about us. I wish her greater peace of mind, I wish to spoil both my parents
- For my brother, I hope he achieves whatever he sets out to achieve, and for my husband, the same

THINGS TO MASTER
- My temper – though I don’t have much of a temper, I’d like to master it
- I believe one should master what one already uses – so I would like to further my mastery of Hindi as well as English
- My craft of acting
- Master how to be the best version of myself; self mastery is a lifelong journey, a critical one
- Gain some mastery over relating, improve on that aspect of life as well

ICONS
- Sarojini Naidu
- Meryl Streep
- My father, Anil Kapoor
- Toni Morrison
- Oprah Winfrey

FAVOURITE BOOKS
- An Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
- The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, though I don’t agree with it anymore
- Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
- Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh

INDIAN STYLE ICONS
- Maharani of Cooch Behar
- Waheeda Rahman
- Meena Kumari in Pakeezah
- Nutan
- Madhubala for her unforgettable screen presence

ON YOUR BUCKET-LIST
A sustainable career – not just when I am in India or London or Delhi, but a career that ‘travels’, feels vibrant. Maybe even acting in a foreign production