Ranbir Kapoor is a superstar because he's a superb actor: Shraddha Kapoor

If you go by social media stats, Shraddha Kapoor is the kind of Bollywood actress, fans just cannot seem to get enough of. With over 78.9m followers on Instagram alone, it’s safe to say her virtual appeal transcends her reel life pull.

Whether it be her goofy pictures at home with her girl-next-door spectacles perched at the end of her nose, or simply sipping a hot cuppa tea on her Mumbai terrace, what fans seem to love is her relatability. This despite the fact that her edgy debut in 2010’s thriller Teen Patti was not exactly the conventional route to stardom for the star daughter of 70s ace villain Shakti Kapoor.

If Aashiqui 2 made her the nation’s sweetheart, she followed it up with hard hitting movies like Haider and Stree among others. Her chequered career took a hit in 2020, like that of many of her peers.

“Covid just came and my film Baaghi 3 was playing and it just paused everything for everybody,” she says in a recent Zoom interaction with City times.

“I’m sure Covid was difficult for everybody for different reasons,” she goes on to add as if to explain her movie coming to a halt at the cinemas wasn’t exactly the biggest catastrophe to befall one.

Her Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, directed by Luv Ranjan and starring her alongside Bollywood heartthrob Ranbir Kapoor, also has taken its own time to reach the cinemas - the movie was shot through Covid and after some delays is finally hitting theaters on March 8.

KT CHAT WITH SHRADDHA

“It’s been a while since I've been on the big screen, so I’m excited,” she admits. “It's really nice to see the kind of response that our songs and trailers are getting with people saying they're looking forward to seeing me again on the screen as well. I am, too. It's been a while. It’s great that it's happening with a film like this.”

The excitement is palpable - after all three years is a long time for a Bollywood actor to be away from the big screen, though she has made her presence felt in the interim, whether it be through her cameo in Bhediya (2022) or her brand endorsements or the ever dependable Instagram.

"I'm a theatre buff"

Pathaan’s success has given a new lease of life to Bollywood and Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (TJMM) will truly test the waters as to the post Covid appeal of rom coms, which as a genre has done well for the industry in the past.

“I’m an absolute theatre buff, and I love going to a theatre and watching a movie,” Shraddha avers. “And it's so nice that Pathaan has welcomed that love all over again. It's nice for any cinema goer, movie buff or movie lover. To be able to sit and watch a movie with a roll or a popcorn, whatever you're drinking, or even if you're just immersed in a movie, is one of the most amazing experiences. I'm so excited that my film is going to be releasing in theatres. And here's hoping that people also go and watch it and love it as well.”

The trailer has amassed a lot of interest courtesy Bollywood’s lover boy Ranbir Kapoor’s return to the genre and the fact that it is being helmed by rom com director Luv Ranjan (of Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety fame) has also got fans buzzing. “It is absolutely in the world of Luv Ranjan cinema - Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Sonu Ke Titu… - it is in that world,” she agrees.

“And if you have watched those films, you know exactly that there will be something “hatke” (different) in the characters and the story. I've not played a character like this before. I've been someone who's been a very honest character, you know?” Yes, we do and so do audiences who have come to love her for her sweet, innocent look, as do her online followers.

Social media darling

“Whether it's on social media or whether it's here during interviews. I think that even if I try to, I can't not be myself,” she explains. “Being on social media is an extension of exactly who I am. And it's so lovely to be able to share aspects of myself on social media and to get people who are watching say that, (she’s) just like me. It's nice to just connect on these common loves. So I really enjoy that on social media. I love sharing that aspect of my life with anyone who wants to join me on that journey.”

TJMM is also tagged as a movie that handles love in the age of social media. But Shraddha is too old fashioned when it comes to love, she asserts.

“How do I define love in the age of social media? I think whether it's the age of social media or if I was born in the 1930s, or if I was born in the 1960s or eighties, love for me is that classic eternal romance. That's the best way that I can describe it.”

Despite being in the industry for so long and doing varied roles be it a Haseena Parkar (2017) or Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018), Shraddha says, “I feel like I'm just getting started.” And just to feel that is exciting she says.

“I feel like I'm beginning a new aspect of discovering myself as an actor. And TJMM is a film where I felt something very new within myself as an actor as well. It was fun to discover that about myself. It was fun to experience that on this film. This character is someone who is… a jhoothi (liar) without divulging too much of the film. And once you see the film, you'll know exactly what I mean. It was such a wonderful experience working with Luv sir and his school of cinema. It's a very different experience that I've had where the characters’ dialogues are so important. And his films are also so well known for the writing and the screenplay. So to be a part of that world has been a very new experience for me.”

Whether Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar will blaze a trail like Pathaan at the theatres remain to be seen, but the makers seem to be going all out to promote it. The song pictured on the lead couple, Show me the Thumka in particular seems to have garnered a lot of eyeballs, with a few social media commentators pointing out some of the steps look inappropriate for the scene.

But Shraddha glosses over the controversy by merely commenting she had the time of her life shooting for it. It was amazing to be a part of such a vibrant and energetic song, she says. “I am so blessed for the kind of love and support that I get on social media. It is so overwhelming when I go online and see the kind of support that I receive. There's no amount of words that can express the gratitude that I feel for it. It's really special and very unique. So I feel like the luckiest girl.”

“Ranbir is a superstar because he's a superb actor"

“Working with Ranbir was fabulous. I've admired him so much as an actor from his first film, Saawariya. He's a brilliant actor. He's so loved for his craft. And he is a superstar because he's a superb actor. So to experience that, to experience his talent, to experience the way that he approaches what he does has been fabulous. He's absolutely delightful. The way that he comes prepared on set and doesn't show at all that he is so thoroughly prepared, which is why I call him a Makkaar! Because I'm like, you make it look so effortless. You make it look so easy. But I know that you've stayed up all night and crammed your lines and you've thoroughly prepped. It was a blast to enact scenes together with him.”

Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar releases in UAE cinemas on March 8

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