Sonam, 21, has been learning Kathak since she was 6. "And like in dancing, acting also makes you use your body as a tool. I think it's beautiful, the process of creating people, creating characters, through yourself." She then randomly guffaws, going on to try and make me feel bad for making her miss dance class because of this interview.
Her dad never had reservations about her joining films. "Why would he be a hypocrite? He loves working in the film industry." The shock was for her mom. "Well, her big thing was that I would be skipping University. Wasn't because `I'm a girl' or anything, but skipping Uni was a big step. My sister's in New York University right now and my mom comes from a family of bankers and doctors. She was a little iffy about it but she's chilled out now, because it's the biggest launch anybody can get."
"And she's like, `you want to become an actor and you have Sanjay Leela Bhansali as your debut director, how can I have a problem with that?'" With mock-theatrical exaggeration, Sonam tosses her long straight hair back, and slips momentarily into tones of over-the-top melodrama. "As long as I'm happy," she laughs. "And I am."
"See, I am obsessed with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's work. I find a lot of layers in it. I mean, Devdas is not just a commercial film. It has heightened emotions, and flawed characters in a beautiful setting. He does overdramatise everything, and that is to reach to the front-row audiences. But the back-row audiences also go through the layers. I love the layering he gives. Everything is beautifully thought out, beautifully synchronised."
Also read: The opulence of Saawariya
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