Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; September 17, 2019)

After the socially-relevant movie, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, in which she became the first mainstream actress to play a lesbian, Sonam Kapoor aka Sonam K Ahuja is ready to charm the audiences with her next, The Zoya Factor. Based on Anuja Chauhan’s book by the same name, it’s about a girl who is considered lucky for the Indian cricket team. The captain, however, rubbishes the theory. Sparks fly between the two, ending in a romance. “It’s a lighthearted film. There’s no special message and it’s not trying to say anything. After an intense film like Ek Ladki... I wanted to do a fun film,” Sonam smiles. While she reveals that she’s been lucky for her father Anil Kapoor, as after her birth, he got a spate of hits, she feels that hard-work goes hand-in-hand with luck and destiny. Excerpts from a freewheeling chat...

Had you read the book before doing the film? Whose idea was it to adapt it for screen?
I’ve read a lot of Anuja’s books. I already own the rights to her Battle For Bittora, and we’re trying to produce it. The script is ready and we may make it next year. I had read The Zoya Factor, which is a great book. I was offered the film when it was with other production houses like Saregama and Red Chillies. There was always talk about me doing the film, but it was never made. Then, Aarrti Shetty and Pooja Shetty acquired the book’s rights, and called me up. They felt only I, and nobody else, could play the role. I thought the same, and was glad they offered it to me. Also, after doing an intense film like Ek Ladki Ko, I thought in this day and age, especially because of all the horrible stuff that’s going on in the world, when you go to the theatre, you want to see a fun film and The Zoya Factor is that.

Was it fun shooting for the film, too?
Yes. The weird thing was this film is all about luck, but everything just kept going wrong every day. For example, I had to put on weight and perm my hair. In the book, the character is a little plump and has frizzy hair. Since I’m not chubby and have poker-straight hair, I decided to perm them because it would have been difficult to curl them to that extent every day. So, I went to one of the best salons in the city. They forgot to put a protector on my head so that my hair is not damaged by the perming product, and my hair got burnt. Nobody knows about this, but that’s what happened. I also gained 10 kilos for the role, and it was hard to lose the weight. I’ve had mean things said to me, like ‘you’re looking so fat’. Some people asked if I was pregnant! Thankfully, I’ve lost that weight. I love doing comedy and I was working with my chacha (Sanjay Kapoor) and Dulquer Salmaan for the first time. It was a lot of fun.

Your uncle Sanjay Kapoor plays your father in the film. How was it working with him?
I worked with my dad in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and now my chacha plays my father in The Zoya Factor. Our family is entrenched in films. We eat, breathe and live movies. It was great to work with my uncle because I realised he has absolutely no ego. You’re working with your niece, who’s the lead of the film, but you have no qualms about it, and you’re happy to be a part of it. I’ve always been respectful of my chacha. Actually, I don’t even think of him as my uncle, he’s like a friend since he’s the youngest (brother) in the family and I’m close to Maheep (Sanjay’s wife).

How much do you believe in luck and destiny?
I believe a lot in destiny and that luck has to be on your side. But I also believe it has to be a combination with hard work. Just because everything is written, you can’t just sit on your bum and expect it to happen. Whatever I’ve learnt about work is from my dad and I haven’t seen a more hard-working man than him. He’s extremely talented and possibly the best actor in India; at the same time, he’s been in the right place at the right time.

To what extent has your career been about luck and how much has destiny played a part in it?
I’m born into a certain family, right? That’s destiny. I come from a film family and I decided to assist Sanjay Leela Bhansali on a movie. Ranbir (Kapoor) was already on it and I knew him since I was a child. When I applied for the job, SLB didn’t know I was Anil Kapoor’s daughter because nobody had ever seen me at events, as I hadn’t been photographed before. Ranbir told him, ‘My friend is coming for the job of an intern’. He was making Bajirao Mastani with Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan then, not Black. When I met SLB, he said, ‘I want to cast you in my film’. That, I guess, is destiny because without even knowing I’m Anil Kapoor’s daughter, he told me that. Of course, I had to audition after that.

Please continue...
At that time, Shraddha (Kapoor), Katrina (Kaif), Deepika (Padukone) — we were all auditioning together. Even for Delhi-6, I had to audition first. So, I think it was a combination of luck, destiny and hard work. Because I’m sure there are lots of girls who are prettier, more talented or more hardworking than me but it’s always about being in the right place at the right time. At the same time, if you don’t work hard, and if you don’t have talent, you cannot survive.

Was it Neerja that changed your career’s trajectory and the kind of roles you wanted to do?
I would say that it was after Raanjhanaa. Out of the 18 films that I have done, three have been unsuccessful. If I had to look back at my career, I would say Delhi-6 and Saawariya were great for me. Aisha was also amazing and so was I Hate Luv Stories. Then I did three films — Mausam, Thank You and Players — which didn’t work. Straight after that, I did Raanjahnaa, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Khoobsurat and Neerja. There was a period of two years when my films didn’t work. After that, I haven’t had films that did not work. When I did Raanjhanaa, I was 26, now I am 34 — so in eight years, I have done pretty much okay.  I don’t think I’m doing that badly.

Do you choose your scripts by gut feeling?
I don’t believe in gut feeling. I believe in doing stories that I feel attached to. Also, I like to work with good people. It has to be a combination of the two. I’ve been offered big films by some directors with whom I didn’t want to work either because I didn’t like them as people, the way they spoke to me or how they portrayed women. But I’ve worked with filmmakers like Ram Madhvani (Neerja director) who had helmed only one film Let’s Talk, 10 years before that. I have worked with a Shelly Chopra Dhar in Ek Ladki, Shashanka Ghosh in Khoobsurat — he had done just one film Quick Gun Murugun. I’ve worked with filmmakers like Rajkumar Hirani, R Balki,  Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. I believe in collaborating with people who are like-minded, progressive, and who want to make good cinema. It doesn’t matter what the length of the role is, as long as my character is of importance.

From doing a cameo to being a part of an ensemble cast and playing lead roles, you have done everything in your recent releases...
Yes, even Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB), I did because I was working with Rakeysh and his team after Delhi-6. Also, I thought if I have to do two songs and four scenes, I would rather do that in a film like BMB than any other typical commercial film. In a movie like Pad Man, I am there throughout the second half and it’s a film that says something amazing. In Neerja and Khoobsurat, I am there from the beginning till the end. I know that I have to be a part of scripts that mean something, that challenge me; stories that are entertaining, or have a message.

They look different, they think different. But when it comes to work ethics, producers Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarrti Shetty jam like no other. Giving it our all is how they describe work on the soon-to-release The Zoya Factor
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; September 15, 2019)

Pooja Shetty Deora and sister Aarrti request that we meet at Juhu's chic members-only club, Soho House. They are going to be at a song location recce prior. The two are producers on Sonam Kapoor's upcoming film, The Zoya Factor, based on Anuja Chauhan's bestseller. "Pooja is so out of place at these recces," Aarti says. "It's dirty, it's hot, it's dusty, she thinks. The choreographer told her, 'please, leave. You are too posh for these surroundings'." Pooja has a rebuttal. She thinks the younger sister is equally awkward during financial discussions. "I tell her, please stay quiet. She can't talk money to save her life!"

They are daughters carrying forward the legacy of Manmohan Shetty, the man who founded Adlabs Films Ltd., a films processing studio that at one point was handling 90 per cent of Bollywood's business. He eventually expanded to film distribution and is remembered for setting up the city first IMAX dome screen. Shetty was instrumental in kickstarting Mumbai's multiplex culture, and later went on to produce hits like Munnabhai MBBS. It's at his firm, Walkwater Media Ltd. that Pooja holds the post of managing director and Aarti heads the creative division.

As students of Maneckji Cooper and Jamnabai Narsee schools, Pooja and Aarrti would head to the lab every Saturday in a bid to spend time with their father, who kept odd hours. "He'd buy us classics like Raj Kumar's movies and The Sound of Music. So, movies were always a part of our lives," says Aarrti, who went on to assist Ram Gopal Verma, Shimit Amin and Karan Johar on their productions. "I think the movies we want to make should have some twist, offer a glimpse into a world that the audience may have never seen before. For example, with Zoya, it's the world of cricket but like never before. I don't think we can make total commercial or masala films. You need a skill for that, and we are aware of our limitations. We are still very young in the journey," Pooja admits.

The duo bagged the rights to Chauhan's 2008 novel from Shah Rukh Khan's production firm Red Chillies Entertainment, where it had been lying locked for three years. The film, scheduled to release this month, stars Dulquer Salmaan, Malayalam superstar Mammootty's son. He plays a cricketer while Kapoor is a successful advertising executive who turns into a good luck charm for India's cricket team during the World Cup.

After their first release via Walkwater, Tere Bin Laden (2010), the Shetty sisters say they realised the importance of being hands-on. They apply this philosophy to the movies and Imagica, the 130-acre theme park in Khopoli, they run. "If you are not there for every stage [of the business], the results are not [in line with] your vision. When the park was being set up, we were there all day, coming home slathered in mud. We didn't have a life, but that's how we work," says Pooja. Aarrti has learnt from the sister. "I once had a problem with a script and let it go. Later, I told myself, I will never let that happen again. Sometimes, Pooja joins me at creative meetings, and says, we have been talking about one scene for two hours. We have to, because it's not resolved."

When they are not collaborating on movies, they are Netflixing. But that's only when Pooja is not busy playing a mother. She and husband, politician-entrepreneur Milind Deora became parents last year to a daughter through surrogacy. "Sleep has reduced," she laments, "and so has socialising. I see my friends once in three months. I slot film meetings only after lunch. My mother helps out a lot. There is a room in fact, at my maternal home in Juhu, that's done up exactly like the room I have for my daughter at our Worli residence. I can't take on any more work, because I love my sleep, and don't get enough. But, I want to do both, be a parent and a professional." Aarrti calls this fiction, arguing, "But you are always sleeping! I sleep half of what she sleeps."

And Pooja isn't afraid to bring work home. Milind is around when she wishes to discuss films, and she has an opinion on his political career. "It's a crisis for sure," she says candidly about the Congress party's future following the Lok Sabha election debacle and its leader Rahul Gandhi's resignation. "It's been a hard couple of years. We often talk about what we can do next."

What next, in the immediate short term revolves around The Zoya Factor, which she calls a hatke comedy. And you know it matters to the both of them when Pooja says, "Not all movies work. But you have to put in your best, and be invested in every way possible. Otherwise, what's the point?"