'I did not have a quintessential debut even though my father is a well known actor in the industry.'
'That's why I never felt like an industry kid.'
Shraddha Kapoor is getting ready for the biggest movie of her career so far.
Saaho has been made on an epic scale, and features the Baahubali star Prabhas. The trailer looks slick with high-octane action.
Of course, there's a lot of pressure that comes with a film like this.
Shraddha explains to Rediff.com Contributor Divya Solgama, "Saaho is a massive budget film at almost Rs 350 crore. If the audience does not connect with the film, it’s a huge loss."
Were you skeptical about being paired opposite Prabhas in Saaho?
No. I was very excited about getting an high-octane, multi-lingual film.
I haven't done anything like this before.
I was equally excited about working with Prabhas.
You have done a lot of action in Saaho. You did that in Baaghi as well. Is it a constant effort from your side to be more than just eye-candy?
I think we are witnessing stronger parts for women in every kind of film.
The audience wants to see a woman in stronger parts.
I play a strong character in Saaho. Her journey has a lot of layers in it.
I got attracted to this film because my character plays an important part.
Saaho is a multilingual, big-budget film, featuring Baahubali star Prabhas. Do you feel the pressure?
There is a lot of pressure but I try not to think too much about it.
I have had many injuries this year; my neck has still not recovered from an injury on the Street Dancer shoot.
Saaho is a massive budget film at almost Rs 350 crore. A lot of pressure comes with such big budget films.
If the audience does not connect with the film, it’s a huge loss.
I am so nervous, I want to lock myself in a room!
What makes you more nervous -- the big budget or that this is your first film down south?
I get nervous before every film.
All of us know that months of hard work go into the making of a film.
After the film gets complete, the result comes within a week of its release.
I remember someone telling me that I won't be feeling nervous now, as my films have been doing well, back-to-back.
But I feel more and more nervous with each release.
The pressure is also on me to do something different as an actor.
What injuries did you have?
Not too many during Saaho, but plenty during Street Dancer.
I still remember I was shooting Cham Cham (in Baaghi) and my feet were bleeding.
It was shot on a real railway station, and the platform was very rough.
Though director insisted that I dance wearing shoes, that feel wasn't coming through.
I still feel that an injury should not happen to anybody because it takes too much time to recover.
Saaho is a multilingual film. Was it difficult to shoot a scene in different languages, and get the emotions right?
Yes. It's quite challenging to get the same feel from the scene.
There's a beautiful amalgamation between Bollywood and the south film industry.
I think Baahubali was the first of this beautiful amalgamation.
It's possible for different film industries to unite and make one super good film.
By doing this, it can be a new chapter of our Indian cinema.
It feels really great to be a part of this.
In 2018, your films Stree and Batti Gul Meter Chalu released almost back to back. It will repeat this year as well, with Saaho and Chhichhore. Will this trend continue in 2020?
I hope not!
If it were in my hands, I would had longer gaps in between my films.
But it’s not in my hands and perfectly fine with me.
Both Saaho and Chhichhore are big and very different from each other.
I play different characters in each, and it's very exciting for me.
The rest is up to audience.
How do you select your films?
I always want to do something different, be it my debut film (Teen Patti) or Aashiqui 2 or even Haseena Parkar.
I did not have a quintessential debut even though my father is a well known actor in the industry.
That's why I never felt like an industry kid.
How tough is the competition?
So many kinds of films are being made today; some are commercial and some are content-oriented.
I try to have a bit of both, as much as possible.
It's nice to be a part of films that audiences really enjoy. And if your work is appreciated, it's truly amazing.
I've had no time to think about competition for the last two years.
I had no holidays; I've been working and shooting all the time.
There's no time to even watch movies.
I just started watching Game of Thrones after the craze got over!
When will we see you in a comedy?
I don’t know. I would love to do a film like Chaalbaaz.
One of your father Shakti Kapoor's famous roles in Crime Master Gogo from the film, Andaz Apna Apna. Would you like to do a comedy with him?
Yes, why not!
I think one should make a film titled Crime Master Gogo With Gogi (laughs).
