Veere Di Wedding actor Sonam Kapoor thinks people are getting the idea of feminism wrong.
Veere Di Wedding is a Bollywood film which explores the idea of female friendships. Four women, Avni (Sonam Kapoor), Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor Khan), Sakshi (Swara Bhasker) and Mira (Shikha Talsania) are each other’s confidantes and each other’s strength in their journey. While some are discussing how Veere Di Wedding is not a chick flick, others cannot get over the portrayal of its women characters who talk unabashedly about sex and love.
A few days ahead of its release, we got to experience the onscreen chemistry of the ‘veeres’ (Sonam, Kareena, Swara and Shikha) off the cameras as well. During the promotions of Veere Di Wedding in the national capital, we sat down for a chat with the lead cast of this Rhea Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor production.
Starting the conversation with Kareena who plays the role of a commitment-phobic woman Kalindi, we asked her, out of Geet of Jab We Met and Kalindi of Veere Di Wedding which character is closer to her personality in real life. Kareena said, “They are both very different to what I am in person. Kalindi is completely commitment phobic but she has her own reasons for that and Geet was very reckless but reckless for love. So I am tilting more towards Geet.”
Kareena Kapoor Khan is excited for the release of Veere Di Wedding.
Next, it was Sonam who talked about her character, Avni, and the hard work that went into the preparations for her role. She explained, “My character is of a matrimonial lawyer who works at the Tees Hazari court. I have a cousin who is also a matrimonial lawyer so to prepare for the role, I talked to her a lot and discussed how these lawyers talk, what clothes they wear and what are their mannerisms.” As Sonam said this, Swara who is born and brought up in Delhi interrupted and jokingly asked Sonam, “Have you ever been to Tees Hazaari? If you ever go there you will realise that living with your husband is better than visiting the court every second day.”
The cast of Veere Di Wedding.
And while Shikha Talsania explained that she had to learn to speak Punjabi for the movie and it was Swara who became her tour guide during the shoot in Delhi, Sonam pulled her friend Swara’s leg by saying that her character of Mili Chakraborty was based on her. She quipped, “Remember my character of Mili Chakraborty in Khoobsurat, I have based it on Swara.” As soon as she said it, Swara tried to reason out, “But she was nuts,” to which like a real ‘veere’ Sonam quipped, “So what? Are you not?”
Shikha Talsania was last seen in Wake Up Sid.
Making the conversation jovial, Swara promptly said, “I have based my character of Sakshi on Kareena Kapoor Khan.” The moment she said this Kareena told the media persons to not to believe her. So Swara explained, “Kareena has an attitude and swag and Sakshi has the similar qualities. No matter where Kareena would be in the world, even if she would have been a primary school teacher in Africa, she would have been a star. She is born with that star power.”
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Sonam recently got hitched to Anand Ahuja and for her, the concept of marriage has evolved at least in the metro cities of India. “India is still predominantly patriarchal. But I know in Mumbai and in major metro cities, marriage has become more about a partnership. It may be because of increased expenses and also because of a woman’s ambition. But I think both spouses work and every marriage should be about partnerships, ” said Sonam as she explained her idea of marriage.
Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja tied the knot on May 8.
Ever since they have started promoting Veere Di Wedding, Sonam, Kareena, Swara and Shikha have been discussing the idea of women empowerment. And while they were in Delhi, they did it yet again.
Sonam suggested, “People are getting the idea of feminism wrong. They think it is about male bashing or they think it means that women feel they are superior to men. But that’s not how it is. The idea of feminism came up because women were oppressed and they were not given the same rights as men. A film like Veere Di Wedding is just that. In a very entertaining way, it shows that four women can do anything that a man can do, it talks about equality and that’s what feminism is. It’s a female-driven film but it doesn’t mean that it is a film about women empowerment. It is about four people who just happen to be women.”
Sharing her thoughts on the subject, Kareena said, “I think women empowerment is when a woman is allowed to do what she wants or is allowed to follow her dreams whether it’s about being a wife or a mother. For me being a mother is also very empowering. It just should be your choice. Looking after children and being at home; cooking is also empowering for me. My mother did that. She sacrificed her life in movies to be at home. I don’t think it’s necessary that you have to go out and do a job to be empowered, it could be about doing anything which you like and enjoy doing.”
Sonam, Kareena, Swara and Shikha Talsania share a sizzling chemistry off the screen as well.
Excited about Veere Di Wedding, Kareena feels the film’s concept is unique. “I am very excited about the film as I am used to working with male actors but this time we are a group of four girls. I am waiting to see the reaction of my fans as to how will they take this kind of film because this film has a different language and its concept is one of its kind,” said Kareena.
Kareena Kapoor Khan plays the role of an urban girl Kalindi in Veere Di Wedding.
The makers of the film have been promoting it with the hashtag #iamnotachickflick. But what is that which prompted them to take the decision? Sonam explained, “There is nothing in it being a chick flick but chick flick is a label in which all the films with women leads have been put into. We don’t have genres when it comes to women. But when it comes to men, there are action films, action-comedy and many others. But with women in a film, every film is just a chick flick, whether its a romantic comedy, a dramedy or anything else. We don’t want to be labelled, It’s a film for women and men both. That’s what my sister has said, that she is not making a film for chicks which is anyways a derogatory term for women.”
Veere Di Wedding will hit the theaters on June 1.