On a lazy winter afternoon, Shraddha Kapoor, in a no-makeup-look, curls up on a sofa in a plush hotel in Mumbai and apologises for being late by approximately 15 minutes. As she settles in and is asked to share her earliest memories with her Street Dancer 3D co-star Varun Dhawan, nostalgia hits her. She says, “Varun and I were in rival schools. When you’re growing up, if you’re in one school and your friend is in another school, your conversations are mostly about how your school is better than theirs. This has happened throughout our childhood.”
Smiling, she adds, “Varun has a very special place in my life and in my heart. I’ve grown up knowing him. When you’re working with someone you’ve a special bond with, it becomes a very special experience. He has been the same person and that’s one of the most amazing qualities that he has. He’s so down-to-earth and is very approachable.”
So what are her thoughts on the actor that Varun is? “He’s a people’s person and it comes very naturally to him. He has maintained that quality. Everybody loves him. He’s got a spark which makes the masses feel that he belongs to them. It’s so amazing to watch him on the big screen,” she shares.
Shraddha says that both ABCD 2 (2015) and Street Dancer 3D are “important” films for her. “They are trendsetters. ABCD 2 helped me fulfil another childhood dream of mine, that of dancing on the big screen. Street Dancer 3D, along with ABCD 2, required me to do professional-level dancing and explore different styles of dance that Remo (D’souza; choreographer-director) sir brought to India.”
Shraddha says that the compliments surrounding her dance movies come across as a surprise to her. She reveals that she gets “a panic attack” every time she needs to pick up a choreography set. “A plethora of questions keeps popping in my head – Will I be able to do it? How long do I have to pick the set up? Will it be a one-take shot? Will we shoot it indoors or outdoors? What should I wear? This is followed by my team calming me down and then we approach the entire process by taking one step at a time. As you start rehearsing, you realise that some of the steps are way more difficult than the others and what they looked like. So, you strengthen your body, chart out a workout plan, set your diet, hydrate yourself and change your sleeping pattern according to that,” she elaborates.
Rewinding to her childhood days, she says, “I realised I love dancing from the moment I learnt to walk. My parents used to make my brother and I dance at home. Back in those days, there were no handy cams and so, they used to set up big cameras in a way so that we couldn’t see them. Then they used to play I Love You from Maha-Sangram (1990) and other songs of Sridevi and Madhuri (Dixit Nene). I used to be crazy about them. My parents knew that if they played these songs, both of us would come before the mirror and start dancing. We’ve still those footages at home (laughs).”
