FARHAN AKHTAR:
‘Unconventional’ and ‘edgy’ are the words most often used whenever the director and actor is discussed. Sleek director, groovy singer and a very unconventional actor. Plus good looks and a great sense of humour. You seem to be Bollywood’s latest sex symbol…
Really? I got it finally? Wow! I have been dying for this position. This is it! Can’t ask for anything more in this life! (Laughs) What do you expect me to say to this? I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or laugh. I don’t know how people take all these titles – ‘sex symbol’, ‘lover boy’ etc – seriously. I couldn’t face my friends for nearly a week after a magazine came out with a piece naming me one of the sexiest dads in India. They couldn’t stop laughing. And I couldn’t have been more embarrassed.
Oh, come on! You really want us to believe that you are unaware of the sex symbol tag or don’t care?
No, I am not saying that. I think it is important to be aware but not be affected by it. Honestly, I appreciate it. It feels great, thank you very much. But then what? I can’t sit and think about it. So I don’t take it seriously.
Is that why we’ve never seen you as a filmi ‘lover boy’?
The love story genre is my least favourite. I can’t handle the good lover boy type of character. I’d never pick it. I find it boring.
So you make your characters’ love stories quirky…
True. But isn’t that nice? And more than nice, that is what really connects with the audience. A certain quirkiness always makes a love story more interesting, more edgy.
This edginess also spills over to the characters you play. In Rock On!!, Kartik calling Kartik, Luck By Chance and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, every character you played was full of insecurities – nothing like a quintessential hero. Was that a conscious decision?
I haven’t been fanatically looking for such roles, but yes, I guess in some ways I tend to pick roles that are not unidimensional. Also thankfully, the definition of a ‘quintessential hero’ has changed today. Now I don’t have to sing five songs or be holier than thou to be a hero. I can have my shades of grey and yet be accepted. Even the heroine is not the same. She is no longer the ‘pure’ woman who faints at the idea of sex. And she doesn’t change from a hippie to sari-clad the minute she falls in love. For me, it’s far more real.
But we are still so skeptical about going all out with modern love.
Among all your films as an actor, which
character do you relate to most?
Undoubtedly, Imraan in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. I feel Zoya (Akhtar) and Reema (Kagti) wrote that character based entirely on me. He wrote poetry but does not share it – like me. He’s witty and has a nutty sense of humour – like me. He’s social but not the most extrovert in nature – again, like me. Imraan’s character was like a blueprint of the real me.
So what’s your idea of true love?
A lot of comfort and understanding. Where being together is the only important thing. And you enjoy being together. So much that you are ready to forgive each other and be together.
Is your love story edgy too?
(Laughs) It has its share of ups and downs, but thankfully the edges aren’t too sharp. We met through common friends. She is from the UK. We dated each other off and on, finally got serious in ’99 and married in 2000. So it’s fairly simple.
FARHAN ON SONAM:
The hottest thing about Sonam?
Her smile. It lights up her face and her surroundings brilliantly.
Sonam as an actress…
I have seen only two of her films – Delhi 6 and Saawariya. She was good in both, I thought. But of course there is a long way to grow and she has great potential.
SONAM KAPOOR:
Though she’s never had a major hit, the actress is a Bollywood favourite – and not only for her dress sense
What does love mean to you?
I think it is a little confused. By temperament, I am not the most conventional romantic. I don’t give cards or flowers etc. On the other hand, I am a hardcore romantic. I love romances and strongly believe in love. Love stories are also my favourite genre.
Which is your favourite love story?
Wuthering Heights. It’s my all-time best. I have a fascination for this tragic, unrequited kind of love. A love which is selfless and remains unfulfilled… oooh! I am such a sucker for it. Very filmi, no? (Laughs)
You are an avid reader, right?
Oh yes! I read anything and everything. Not too many people associate an actress with reading. And not too many people know that I read either. But books have been one of the biggest influences in my life. I am not a sportsperson, I don’t party unless I have to, I am really not into networking… Give me a good book and I’ll get lost in it any day.
So is this the real Sonam? Why do you hide behind the ‘fashion diva’ avatar?
Because that’s the image that Bollywood, the media, everybody has created for me. Which isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy it. I love being a fashion icon. I love the fact that girls from 9 to 19 want to dress and style themselves the way I do. It is a huge high. And personally, I love to play dress up. But that has nothing to do with being a fashion icon. That is a very girl thing. Every girl wants to dress up, so do I. And the other side of me? No one really cares. I mean, I read or do whatever, how does it matter? That has nothing to do with my public image. That I’ve worked with Peta and the breast cancer foundation for the last four years is hardly ever mentioned. One other side of Sonam gets talked about though. The politically incorrect one!
And I am working very hard towards keeping my mouth shut from now on. I shall be a good girl and not put my foot in mouth. That is my new year resolution. I shall be propah! I come from a typical MCP Punjabi family and I have been told to behave like a good girl! Ouch! There goes my resolution. Okay, back to the ‘tag’.
Isn’t the tag a little tiresome?
And restricting?
Sure it is. But ultimately it’s just a tag. You know, the industry didn’t really have a ‘fashion icon’. It was an empty space.
People would like to dress like you, but you don’t really wear the most affordable stuff…
True, but people have to know that most of what I wear comes to me for free. But I don’t think my ‘icon’ status is limited to my dresses. It has to do with my attitude. My individuality comes through and that is important. In an industry that is conformist in nature, I don’t conform to any rules. Regular girls identify with me. Also, I look comfortable in whatever I wear, so that makes the look sexier. It seems a little strange that your sense of dressing is conventional. Most of your dresses cover up pretty much all!
(Laughs) I believe the more mystery about you, the better it is. I come from a conservative Punjabi family and my mum and dad have been strict in bringing us up. I truly think being sexy comes from your attitude. I wear all sorts of clothes but show only one body part at a time. I show skin of course, but tastefully. I believe in being sexy and sensual, not scantily dressed.
But you weren’t always sexy?
Of course not. I was very influenced by my books. By the age of 14, I had read all the Ayn Rands. I wasn’t glamorous in the least. In fact I was very arty… well, more on the hippie side. I went to Singapore for college and there I became more bizarre. At 16, I was on a mission to improve the world. I had two tattoos – still have them, but hate them now. Six ear piercings, one tongue and one belly piercing. I was a vegan and out to save the world. Till I came back – back home and back to my senses.
What of love? Failed in that ever?
(Smiles) Sure I have, and badly too. I don’t talk about it but it was very difficult. It’s very hurtful when you realise you have been putting your heart and soul into a relationship with someone who is simply leading you on. It’s difficult and heartbreaking.
When did you first fall in love?
When I was 14. He was the basketball captain at school. Of course it went nowhere. Now when I look back, I say to myself, “Dude, what were you thinking?” But then, it was serious and good fun.
SONAM ON FARHAN:
The hottest thing about Farhan?
His intelligence. Haven’t come across too many people with his kind of brightness.
Farhan’s best film?
As a director, Dil Chahta Hai. He is yet to do another like that one, and as an actor, I think Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was definitely his best performance.
