Actress Sonam Kapoor, who is looking forward to her upcoming film “Neerja”, says she would rather focus on her performance than chasing awards.
The “Prem Ratan Dhan Payo” actress feels awards do give a sense of validation to an artist, but to her the craft matters the most.
“I do not work for awards, I work for the craft…I am okay with recognition. The reason the awards are important is because they give you a validation and encouragement to do more and also push you to do better because it gives a sense of competition,” Sonam told PTI.
When asked if Bollywood should start an exclusive award for women to honour and recognise their work, Sonam said, “Yes of course, why not. But I think we already have enough awards in Bollywood for recognition… but I hope there are more nominations in these various awards where women are concerned.”
Several Bollywood stars have raised concern over the credibility of various award shows, while some categorically stay away from attending such events.
Sonam feels things will change for the better. “I think it’s going to change. Once issues start cropping up, things always change. People start doing the right thing.”
She said Bollywood is male-dominated, but is “slowly changing”, and cited an example of how difficult was it for her sister to make her debut film “Khoobsurat”. Many producers were not willing to back the project and work with her sister, something which has changed today, she said.
“It changed because my sister’s first film did well. Now everybody wants to work with her. The first initial step is always difficult but nothing succeeds like success. The industry is male dominated but slowly it’s changing.”
The actress will next be seen in Ram Madhvani’s “Neerja”, in the titular role of flight attendant Neerja Bhanot. The film revolves around the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 in Karachi and how the young flight attendant fought for the lives of her passengers.
“I have always been fearless. But the most amazing thing about Neerja was she gained courage through her fear. She feared for her life… but she still did what she thought was right. She stood on the side of doing the right thing. That shows incredible strength of character.”