"My Dad Treated Me Like A Son" - Sonam 25 Oct 2007
Sonam Kapoor says she has learnt poise and confidence from her dad Anil Kapoor, and gives credit to her father for everything she is today.
DRESSED in a chic black trenchcoat dress, Sonam Kapoor looks like no movie newbie. She exudes poise and confidence. She's also disarmingly honest, speaking openly about her weight problem (ve always loved sweets. Before I knew it I was 86 kilos, eating lots of ice cream and chocolates.) But, size is far from a problem for her now. She's slender. She's also very comfortable with her co-star, Ranbir Kapoor, to the extent that at times they finish each other's sentences! But it's her mentor, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, she can't stop raving about. If you see me sitting here today, it's because of him, she says. The topic shifts to coping with Bhansali's temper on the sets. He's notorious for being a toughie but, that's no problem for her. Says Sonam. I've been brought up in a different environment. My father is disciplined. So's my mother, though the strictness comes with love and affection. So, the discipline on the sets was an extension of what I've been taught at home.
She credits her dramatic weight loss to her parents strict dietary habits at home, and lots of exercise. You eventually realize that you might be 18, but everything you eat now will affect your life later on, she says, And, Sanjay Leela Bhansali saw my potential even at 86 kilos and wanted to cast me. The rumours of shouting sessions on the sets are true, she admits. There have been times when she's done things the wrong way and been yelled at by her director. But later, it's all okay, she adds. We make up soon after. He loves me the most and pampers me a lot.
Much of Sonam's confidence stems from her upbringing as Anil Kapoor's eldest child and her interaction with him over the years. My dad treated me like a son, he never treated me any differently from my brother Harsh. He'd say, She's a beautiful young lady. Why can't she do as well as any boy. He was happy when I decided on films as a profession.
Anil Kapoor has been one of Bollywood's most enduring actors, adapting and innovating as he's grown older. Today, as a producer, he's earned respect with Gandhi My Father. Would she like to do a film like that. Or is it too niche for her? I would love to do a film like that, she says. In fact, what's amazing is that my father, who's always had this brash mawaali image, is actually a sensitive and artistic man inside. He's so happy making an artistic film. But, I'll have to suit a role in his movie to get it.
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