Shraddha, along a musical bend

Bollywood buzz

She considers herself blessed in several ways. For one, her strong support system, her family — comprising father Shakti Kapoor, ex-child-artiste and singer-mother Shivangi and actor-brother Siddhant — because of whom she could go through her low phase after a flop beginning (Teen Patti in 2010 and Luv Ka The End in 2011) till Aashiqui 2, which released in 2013.

Shraddha Kapoor also believes that if you wish for something with all your heart, the universe does give it to you. “I was watching Rock On!! and just told my mom that if a sequel is ever made, I’ll be in it! That was while I was shooting for Teen Patti. And I am in Rock On!! 2” she says with a soft smile.

Her role must be really important, considering that she is the only new lead addition to the cast, that too without a romantic angle. “Oh, yes, I did not realise that I have no hero opposite me, unlike in all my other films!” she muses, surprised at this novelty in her six-year, eight films-plus-one cameo career.

As for her character, everyone has an internal conflict as in the first film. “So does my character of Jia Sharma, keyboard player, programmer and singer. There is something that is holding me back, a baggage that I’m carrying. It’s a clichéd answer, but you will find out what when you watch the film!”

Shraddha has had a great run of late, critically appreciated for Haider, and commercially successful with Ek Villain, ABCD 2 and Baaghi. “Yes, it’s nice to have such success,” she admits. “Someone told me that I was the only one among the young women actors to have films that are successful across the country, and that’s just great!” Does she select such films, if at all it’s possible, strategically? “Perhaps I like scripts that appeal to all. It’s just happened, yaar!” she explains.

Would she like to do films with the three Khans? “Of course, yaar! Who wouldn’t?” Ironically, it is only after the day we meet that we read the news that Shraddha was to actually make her debut in Lucky - No Time For Love, opposite Salman Khan.

Coming back to Rock On!! 2, what does she think of sequels as a trend? “Why should sequels not happen if there is a good script, like my ABCD 2?” she asks.

Shraddha has done a splendid job of singing her own songs in the film, especially ‘Udja Re’. “I trained for the songs in the film,” she explains after a modest, “Thank you”. “I have had the good fortune to train in classical music under my late maternal grandfather, Pandharinath Kolhapure, though I did not learn for long, which I now wish I had. But I have learnt under my mother, who is a terrific and trained singer; and my huge inspiration is my grand-aunt Lata Mangeshkar! But here, I had to specially train in bringing in the rock element.”

She adds, “I learnt under Samantha Edwards, a fabulous music coach and a beautiful jazz singer with a divine voice. I had to learn a lot of techniques to control my breathing and hold the notes.”

The actor is thrilled that she could belt out this and other songs in the various Rock On!! 2 concerts around the country. “In Bengaluru, I also performed an English song whose lyrics I’ve written. This is one area about which I have never spoken to the media — I’m writing my own songs for a while now.”

Her own space in music as a listener is extensive — across Indian old and new and what she calls “foreign” music. “I love my maasi (maternal aunt), Padmini Kolhapure’s song ‘Yeh Galiyan Yeh Chaubara’ from Prem Rog. That’s my eternal favourite. I love dancing to the music of David Dahwan’s films, like ‘Tan Tanatan Tan Tan Tara’. I also have fun trying to sing complex ragas under the guidance of my mom. Both of us start anytime and anywhere, like when we are having a cup of tea!”

But singing, the actor reflects, is something that she was inspired and confident about taking on professionally only after she became an actor. “I love acting and that’s what I want to do. Otherwise, I live in a bubble, unaware even about the gossip around me. I wake up, go for shoots, come home, eat, sleep early, and wake up early. And right now, I’m doing lovely movies like OK Jaanu, Half Girlfriend, and the Dawood biopic, Haseena.”