Vaani Kapoor on her Shamshera co-star: 'I have worked with amazing actors but Ranbir Kapoor has absolutely no ego'

After earning critical acclaim for her performance as a trans sexual person in _Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui_, Vaani Kapoor will be seen in a “flamboyant, flashy and alluring” avatar in _Shamshera_ alongside Ranbir Kapoor. Set in the 1800s the film chronicles the story of a dacoit tribe fighting for their right and independence from the British. “Shamshera is very much a Ranbir Kapoor-driven film but mine is also a beautifully written role. There is a lot of charisma in my character Sona. It is a dream role. She has substance and both emotional vulnerability and strength at the core of who she is. It is a very empowering and very different role from what I have played to date,” says Vaani Kapoor.

Shamshera marks Vaani’s first collaboration with Ranbir and she doesn’t tire of praising her uncomplicated, simple, gifted co-star. “I take a lot of stress whether it is a big or small scene as I am constantly thinking and overthinking but Ranbir just comes, talks god knows what up in the air, the director says action and he transitions into the person one expects him to be. That effortlessness off camera, on-screen when you watch is just mind-blowing. I don’t know how he pulls it off. I don’t know if it is organic, or if he is just gifted and blessed, or he works so hard that when he actually comes on set all that hard work seems effortless. I don’t know what his technique is but he just seems gifted to me. When you have brilliant co-actors then you are not struggling. Things flow in a rhythm, I hope I have the honour to work with him again. I have worked with amazing actors but Ranbir has absolutely no ego, there is no baggage of ‘Okay, I am a star, I have done these many films or I am loved by so many people…’ He comes as a humble, ordinary person, does his job, goes back with all the love, conviction, hard work and focus. There are no frills - ‘I need this car for my pick up, I need that hotel to stay, or I need that suite…” says Vaani.

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Further, the actress, who claims to thrive on challenges, says working with Karan Malhotra she got to push and test her limits and that helped her outperform herself many times. “Someone who pulls me up from my procrastinating state and pushes me to deliver something beyond that is what I am looking for. I have never been part of a film like this before; I have never worked with a director like Karan and I have never had a co-actor like Ranbir before. They have all given me such a unique experience and as an artist that is what I am trying to grasp in my career span that I have. And the fact that I have had literally the best of the best, I couldn’t have asked for better. For me it has only been enriching be it working with Karan, or Ranbir or Sanjay Dutt sir,” she says.

Since the trailer came out, people have been drawing similarities between Shamshera and the 2018 release period action drama Thugs Of Hindostan; there have also been comparisons between Vaani’s character and that of Katrina Kaif in Thugs of Hindostan, where Kaif played a dancer named Suraiyya. “No, no, my role is not like Katrina’s. There is only so much that you have seen in the trailer. There is a very different arc to my character. I can say with conviction that it is a very different film. I have seen Thugs of Hindostan and I have worked in my film and I understand there is no comparison as such. Katrina is a wonderful dancer, actor and I am glad if you are comparing us, please compare me to her beauty, I will be very happy. Shamshera is a very different concept, it is a different brainchild, it is a different director, it is a different vision altogether. It is unfair to compare any film with any other film that has been made in the past or getting made in the future. You have a different cast, different thought process, different ideology when it comes to conceiving this concept,” says Vaani.

Vaani is only seven films old but she’s already worked with some of industry’s top stars including Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, Tiger Shroff and now Ranbir Kapoor. “Yes, I am fortunate I didn’t have to struggle to work with these actors. It is more challenging and interesting if you can make an impact having all these big stars that have reached a certain stature and are applauded for their work and craft. The real test is when I can make my presence felt in the presence of these phenomenal actors. That is my challenge, my ambition that I can hold my own in a scene however many scenes I might have in the film, or whatever my screen time would be in the film. I have fun working with all these actors, they are wonderful in their own way. Ranbir, Ayushmann are close to my age, we have been like friends. I also enjoyed working with Akshay and Hrithik, they are so chivalrous. Ranbir is also very easy to work with, he is actually a dream co-actor for anyone,” she says.

Vaani, who wants to grow and evolve and desires to be part of “great fun films, fulfilling, and amazing and out-of-the-box cinema” has yet another brave subject in her kitty that she is waiting to be announced. Reportedly, she will portray a popular pornstar lookalike in producer Dinesh Vijan’s film titled Sarvagunn Sampann. But as of now, the actress is tight-lipped about the project and she merely says, “I can’t talk about it but I really wish I could…. hopefully soon.”

However, Vaani is also worried about the fate of unconventional films at the box office from her experience with Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui. “Personally I wish numbers were not the only deciding factor for the fate of a film. I was disheartened when Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui didn’t make the box office numbers though it got a lot of love later on. It did really well for me as an actor and as an individual because that was something more settling for me as an artist. Some films you do to fuel your own inner strengths as an actor and to grow and evolve from different experiences. But it kind of shakes the confidence of maybe the producer and director who might fear attempting a brave film like this and just stick to the tried and tested formula because at the end of the day it is business. It is a very tricky situation that you are in but then you cannot make an average film, you have to make something that surpasses the expectations of the audience which only makes us work harder,” she says.

The actress hopes there are many more films mounted for female actors and until then she will keep picking and choosing the best from what she is offered. “Female actors still have to fight their way to get prominent and impactful work barring few who have already attained a certain stature. Hopefully my next, whenever announced will have more prominence for me to talk about. There is a balance to both, you want to experiment in all genres, you want to be able to be part of big commercial films and you want to do meaningful cinema and want to fit in all possible kinds of films that are made,” she concludes.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.

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