"I don't have a problem with that tag at all" - Kanikka Kapur on still being known for 'Ek Duje Ke Vaaste 2'

Actor Kanikka Kapur is currently raking in the positive reviews that she has received for the film Dono, where she plays a key role. However, the telly folks continue to remember and adore her for her leading role in the show Ek Duje Ke Vaaste 2.

Now having made a splash with Dono, the actor sat in an exclusive conversation with us where we asked her multiple things ranging from how she began her career with pageantry and modelling and does she feel content with still being remembered for her role in Ek Duje Ke Vaaste 2 and having the 'TV actor' tag which is used derogatorily by many.

Q. It has been a while since you've been doing this. And you started with modelling and pageantry, which is always something that there is a legacy to it. Recently, there has been a paradigm shift when it comes to that particular context. It's not really looked upon in the same way it used to be. So my question to you is that, given a chance, would you still have chosen to start your career with that? And when it happened to you back then, did it happen because you chose to do it, or it was just a chance?

I mean, my answer to that, if still given an opportunity to start with pageants, would, hands down, be a yes. Because what I really believe it to be is more than just a beauty pageant, how people look at it. Because I know how I prepped for it. So I mean, I was very fond of, I wanted to grow up and change the world. That's what I wanted to do with my life. I saw people like Aishwarya Rai or Priyanka Chopra going to all of these events, which had social causes attached to them. So, I used to think that if we get crowned, we can change the world. 

That was a kid's point of view at that time. And I knew that it has so much more to do with your beauty because there's always a question and answer around. So, even before I turned 18, I was so prepped for it. I used to watch all these beauty pageants on TV. I would write down the questions that they asked. And I'd write my own answers to those questions in a big book, which I had prepared before I turned 18. So I think because of those questions, they made me think about a lot of social issues at a very young age. And because of that, it helped me develop a well-rounded personality, all of these pageants. So they really helped me. And I also feel like because we are not from this industry and we don't have a godfather or a godmother who will guarantee us, I think it's a very good platform for people who don't have anyone in this industry, like how Kriti Sanon also started with pageants. So many girls who are now so successful started with pageants because it gives them a step forward in the direction that they want to move in. So, I think pageants were very helpful personally to me. I wanted this. Acting happened to me. Pageants were something that I actively wanted to take part in.

People still call me Suman and Sumu. I really, I love that.

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Q. When Ek Duje Ke Vaaste 2 happened, of course, it had a popular first season already. But why do you think the second season also connected as much as it did? And why? Like, does it ever feel that, OK, that's a tag I'm fine staying with, or that's a tag I want to get rid of?

People still call me Suman and Sumu. I really, I love that. And in fact, when I did, that was my first TV show. I didn't even know. I didn't know that so many people watch TV. So when I suddenly opened social media, and so many fan pages were there, I thought, this is real. I couldn't believe what was happening. Yeah. But those fans have; it's been now two years since my show has ended. But those fans have stuck around. They just sent me a cake for Dono. They sent me a photo cake to my house in Delhi. And I feel blessed because they keep making edits, and they keep making, I'm not used to all this. 

I mean, I'm used to it. And they're very, I mean, so I think luckily we connected with a lot of, our show was very, I mean, we're in the army school in the show. And then we go into younger audiences connected with our show. A lot of my fans are between the ages of 15 to 20, those kinds of people. So they are very innocent and genuine. And you actually, when they send you these sweet messages, they actually mean them, which I feel is a blessing. To have such ardent followers and fans in your life is, I mean, that's what we all want, right? We all want people to get inspired by us. And we see them getting inspired by us. It's like our work is done. So I'm not at all, I don't have a problem with that tag at all. I mean, I'm very happy that my work is like this, which is still remembered by people.

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