Loveyapa, set in the realm of modern romance, offers a heartwarming tale enriched with unforgettable performances, lively music, and breathtaking visuals. Celebrating love in all its shades, the film is poised to resonate with audiences of all ages.
The film stars Khushi Kapoor and Junaid Khan in lead roles. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Khushi spoke about the reactions in the family about her big-screen debut, Aamir Khan’s ‘She reminded me of Sridevi’ comment, and much more.
Edited excerpts from the interview
You have already made your acting debut, but this is your theatrical debut. What’s the feeling like?
I’m very excited. I have really promoted a film like this and it’s a new process but I think it’s fun kind, trying to kind of do these different things. So I’m quite excited to see how it goes.
What are the learnings from the New York Film Academy that have still stayed with you that you may have used for your prep for Loveyapa or even The Archies for that matter?
I think it has helped me open up a lot as an actor. There were so many classes, I think my favourite one was probably improv because it kind of helps you just be a bit more spontaneous and on your toes and I think that was the most fun class for me, but at the same time we also learned how to edit, we learned how to hold a camera and and make our own short films. So I guess in a way it kind of helps you warm up to everything. At the same time, I think once I got here and actually started working, it did feel like I had to start everything from the beginning. Because of course, a lot of things are different and it’s a lot more intimidating on an actual film set. So I think that was a learning experience in itself.
Aamir Khan said at the trailer launch he was reminded of Sridevi while watching the film. What’s your take on this compliment?
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go anywhere near how amazing my mom was, but it was a very nice and sweet thing to say.
And what are the reactions at home, from Boney Kapoor and Janhvi so far?
It’s a very different character for me. So I think they are kind of excited to see me in this new light and they have not seen the film yet. So I think they’re just anticipating how it’s going to play out for me.
Any similarities between you and the character you play?
The character and I are very distant, because I feel like we as personifies are quite poles apart. I think that’s what made it more fun and challenging. It was kind of ‘Let’s see explore a new part of yourself and you really know you have,’ so that’s what was fun for me.
Your mobile phone is also one of the central characters of the movie, so I want to ask you, in a relationship, how do you decide how much to reveal to your partner and how much to conceal?
If you are concealing anything in your relationship then something is definitely wrong. I think there has to be trust and honesty within every relationship.
What about the emotional depth of Loveyapa?
They are soon going to put out a song which is lovely. That music video shows the other side of the film. There’s a lot of masti and mazaak but there’s a lot of emotional depth to the movie as well. Even for Kiku Sharda, there’s a new way with which he’s presenting himself. His character has a lot of sweet moments so I am looking forward to that as well.
A lot of people say this on social media that actors have overexposed themselves. There is no mystery left or the element of aura left. How much an actor is visible or accessible on social media, can it ever have any impact on his or her box office?
I don’t really think social media and box office have that much of co-relation. I think at the end of it, the story and your skills are kind of what is drawing people to watch the film. I do feel like there are setbacks but also advantages to social media as an actor. Obviously there’s a lot of uncertainty in this field that and you can’t be shooting every day of the whole year so a lot of the work you do get is on social media and I guess it does keep you busy in a certain way, but I also think it’s personally I wouldn’t want to share every single aspect of my life, but that’s just my opinion. But also certain things you don’t really have much control over.
How did you prep for your character?
The stories and worlds I think were very different for both of us so I guess the prep is different for every film in general anyway and it depends on the director and the skills that you need to specifically prepare for for your project. And I think with this one, it was a lot about the banter between the two people for me, for me, at least, I think it was more specific to the characters and the readings because we didn’t have a lot of breaking into song and dance or anything for this one. So I think in that in that sense, it was more about a cracking our characters’ relationship.
How much do you feel content has evolved or changed post the OTT boom?
I think obviously we’ve all evolved and certain thoughts and things have changed in the world, so I guess the way we tell our stories and the ideas that we share is different than before. But I think essentially it’s more or less the same.