‘Camera loves me’

Despite a lopsided hit-flop ratio, actor Sonam Kapoor is confident that a blockbuster is not too far away

In the world of film, actor Sonam Kapoor’s report card may not read like the class topper’s. Her debut, Saawariya (2008), flopped badly, and subsequent big ticket appearances like Delhi 6 (2009), Mausam (2011) and Players (2011) didn’t manage to set the box-office on fire either.
But where films have failed her, fashion has more than made up. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Sonam is the most photographed female star in Bollywood, appearing on magazine covers, sitting on the front row at international ramp shows and posing at the Cannes red carpet in French couture.
But ask whether she’d have been better advised to choose modelling over acting, and she retorts, “I get the opportunity to do magazine covers and shoots because of my films. I know how to work a camera and the camera loves me. But there are lots of people who want to see me act. In fact, I’ve never had a bad review of my performance.”

The actor, who recently lent her celebrity status to help launch Ave 29, the city’s newest art and exhibition space, concedes that her peers may be ahead of her in the game. She admits, “I can work as hard as I want to, or look as pretty as I can, but it’s about luck and getting the right opportunity.”
However, the 27-year-old is quick to point out that she has an advantage over the current crop of top stars like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif.

 
  “I look younger than my age, and that’s good because it means I have a longer run in the industry. In the next couple of years, I’ll be playing a 16-year-old in one film and a 19-year-old in another. Then it’s just a question of one film being successful and that will wipe the slate clean.”