In the last few months, Vaani Kapoor has been busy shooting for an upcoming project with Raj Kumar Gupta. In a quick chat with us, the actress shared her travel plans for this year and talked about her childhood in Delhi, surrounded by “dogs, horses, rabbits, monkeys, cows” at the family’s farmhouse. Excerpts:

Though this summer is mostly about work for Vaani she has her travel itinerary sorted. She says, “We have so much to explore in India and each place has its own charm. I love hills. I have not had time to visit hills, but I have grown up in Delhi and like for Mumbai people short getaways mean Lonavala, Alibaug, for us it is hills, Manali, McLeod Ganj, Nainital, so my entire childhood has been around hill stations. I love south India. I have been to Kerala once, but I would love to explore south India more. From the last two years I have also been inclined towards spiritual destinations. Tirupati and a couple of other places are on my wish list and I hope that I will do that this year.”

Vaani says that as soon as she completes her next shoot, she will be heading to her hometown Delhi. “I already have my list ready with golgappas and what not! My parents are khata-peeta Punjabis and their way of showing love is food. Now my mother has also started to trick me into eating cream etc saying nahi ye toh dahi hai, they always say haye sookh gayi hai, ise koi khilata nahi hai Mumbai mein. They tell me you have to live up to being a Punjabi,” she says.

Talking about her childhood in Delhi, the actress shares, “My childhood was a blast and now I look back and think why was I hoping and wishing to grow up soon. It was so much fun to be a kid. My family used to run an NGO. Our farmhouse was like a mini zoo with dogs, horses, rabbits, monkeys, cows. We had no neighbours, there were times when my schoolmates would make fun of me, but that was the best childhood one could have because it was so unique and different. I am very introverted, I am a big homebody and my house has been my happy place.”

Vaani adds, “My mother had built a swimming pool in our house with the help of a few workers. We would wake up at 8 am and be in the pool till evening. We would have a tub of mangoes and all seasonal fruits around us and this was how we would spend our summer vacations. My mother was strict and would make us eat veggies, but I was always looking for junk. There was a point when I was almost 70 kgs (I think when I was 12) and my mom was a bit alert about my health, but I was an active kid who would digest pretty much everything.”

Even though she was among the first actresses to step out of her home to start shooting when the Coronavirus restrictions were relaxed last year, Vaani Kapoor is now a participant in the waiting game, with the rest of the industry. With stricter norms in place and an escalation in the number of cases, she will have to wait longer to see Bellbottom and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui make their way to the cinemas make their way to the cinemas. While she does that, she continues to watch movies and shows like an avid cinema fan in her me-time.

Talking about it, Vaani says, “As a child, I used to daydream a lot. I had a protective family, and I led a super sheltered life. My dad and I would watch films together. He loves movies. Sometimes you just love doing things without a reason. Watching films was one of them for him and me. There are so many lives, so many stories and moments that you can live through cinema. It’s one thing that would feel real to me even when I was a kid. It’s the greatest de-stressor even today. With every story I watch, I explore a life that I won’t be able to live in this one lifetime.”

Vaani may have spent only seven years in the business, but she has been an ardent follower of cinema and has grown up to acquire a taste for cinema that blends both her parents’ individual choices. “You’ll laugh, but my sister and I would watch The Bold And The Beautiful. It aired at 3 pm in those days. We’d return from school just in time, finish lunch and watch the show with mom. It’s ridiculous for kids to watch such things, but I have fond memories of watching it with my mother and sister. With papa, it was Hindi films, all the way from Seeta Aur Geeta and Guide to Chaalbaaz. We completely enjoyed Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi’s films. Dharmendra is my dad’s favourite hero. I hope that someday I can have my dad meet him. My cousins and I would watch Shah Rukh Khan’s films - all of them. My mother exposed me to Hollywood films, too. The Bridges Of Madison County is my favourite. It could be any genre or actor, I can watch a film if it has great content. My inspirations range from Meryl Streep to Sridevi and Madhuri ma’am.”

As an actress in the business, was she ever star-struck when she met some of her matinee idols? “Strangely, I don’t get carried away when I am in their presence,” says Vaani, adding, “I don’t let it affect me in that way. I love to see them. I have not overtly been intimidated in their presence, but I can’t walk up to someone like Shah Rukh Khan and start a conversation on my own. I am a little reserved in that sense. I can stare like a stalker from a distance and appreciate their work on screen. Now, when I am in this profession, I know what we all do is a job. So, I don’t get star-struck.”