Having been in the eye of the storm about her alleged relationships recently, Shraddha Kapoor says that she’s learnt to ignore stories about herself now. As she prepares for the release of her next, Half Girlfriend, with Arjun Kapoor, the actress admits that she’s been in a situation where there have been questions over commitment. In a freewheeling chat, she opens up about relationships, competition and more. Excerpts:
What does the concept of Half Girlfriend mean to you?
I think the concept of half girlfriend kind of existed before, we’re just putting a kind of a name to it now. I feel people in life have faced dilemmas regarding committing, or not committing, or feeling something for anyone. I’ve been in the situation, and I’ve also been, you can say, someone’s half girlfriend. I’ve not been sure if I have to entirely commit or not. But I feel, through our film, it’s nicely explained that sometimes people, unfortunately, can’t be together due to circumstances. It somewhere affects the beliefs of love.
Would you be someone’s half girlfriend today?
I’m currently happy being single, because I feel like I want to understand myself more, and that’s more important to me. Once I feel I’m ready to be with somebody, I will be. And then, I would want to be someone’s full girlfriend, and not half girlfriend.
How was working with Mohit Suri again?
Mohit is like home ground, it seems. The way he captures romance is very special. This time, he was more concerned about the college portions, where I play a fashionable girl who comes from an affluent background.
Are you a fashionista in real life too?
Fashion for me is about expressing oneself. Comfort is the most important thing for me. I’m not a fashionista; I don’t know much about fashion. My friends tell me ‘You don’t wear your make up and walk out like this.’ I’m just like that as it is, so I’m impatient when it comes to doing my hair and make up. I have the patience to get into the character only for the look of the film. Or else I don’t have the patience.
You’re also working on Haseena. Were you sceptical of doing the biopic?
I wasn’t sceptical. I just hope people think I’m convincing. I haven’t seen anything of the film yet. I just saw a teaser, but I’ve lost perspective now.
Is there a sense of envy when you see your contemporaries doing good work?
I get inspired by Alia (Bhatt); she’s done some good work. In certain amount of roles she’s shown such variety, and I look up to her. I see her as my inspiration.
Do you feel there’s a wage gap, when it comes to paying the actresses?
There’s a disparity. It’s there. Actresses have the choice to either accept that or not. I just feel that it shouldn’t be there; it exists, but I feel like it should not. I strongly believe this disparity should change, and people should not give into it.
How do you deal with criticisms and failures?
I choose not to be too attached to success or failure. Whatever makes sense to me, I choose to work on that. My father’s my biggest critic and he’s very honest and straightforward. He’s proud of me. He feels I’m a good actress, and he appreciates my work.
As a star, do you miss your privacy?
I miss that anonymity very much. Although I’m living out my childhood dream, sometimes I wish I could go for a walk on the beach. I live next to the beach, and I can’t go there anymore.
How do you react to the various reports about your personal life that float around?
Those don’t bother me, because I can’t control what someone cooks up. Sometimes rumours can take such drastic, fictional turns, that it’s just best to ignore them. I don’t read the papers anymore; I haven’t for a while. Even my parents choose to ignore that.
