Our emotional quotient is in our DNA: Sonam Kapoor

Actress Sonam Kapoor revels in all things woman — from a keener emotional quotient to the multi-tasking skills that women bring to the table.

International Women’s Day is often dismissed as a cliché…
You can say that about any day — Valentine’s,  Father’s, Children’s day, Independence or Republic day. You need one day to celebrate women or men, or celebrating love — it’s only practical, in a way where you don’t have to party everyday. We don’t have time to celebrate things all the time.Besides, you need that one day to encourage women all around.

Women are said to be more sensitive than men…
That’s why women are mothers. Our EQ is a little more than men; it’s in our DNA (giggles) it’s not their fault, and it’s not our fault either.

What do you think of women’s roles in Bollywood today? Is it struggle? Do you think women still play second fiddle?
Yeah yeah…for sure!

Like 7 Khoon Maaf, Aisha, Fashion — these kinds of movies are actually exceptions…?
You know contrary to popular beliefs and reports, Aisha did extremely well. For some strange reason everybody put it down. But the fact that it made Rs6 crore extra compared to a lot of other films shows that people want to see women playing central characters. Now it’s upto the men in the industry to deal with the level of conditioning and mind-set. Else Angelina Jolie would not have been an action hero. If all of us in India are excited about Lara Croft,  why can’t we accept a Priyanka Chopra or Aishwarya Rai do something like that?

Is it still true that men pick their women when it comes to movies? Is there a glass ceiling?
Yeah yeah… for sure! But men don’t choose the women, directors choose the women. And if you’re doing really tacky commercial films then…tacky in the sense that where the hero decides that ‘oh, this is gonna be my heroine’ This anti sensibility of saying that ‘oh I’m sleeping with this one and she should be in the film’ — I don’t think it exists anymore. There’s too much money at stake.

Is it true that you’ve sworn off John Galliano designs?
Yes. I have been a huge fan of Galliano since Day One. But no matter, who you are or how much of a genius you are, you have no business making racist statements. Any extremist, in any way, is dangerous to society. It’s wrong, it’s just wrong. It’s blatantly irresponsible.

Are you so conscious in your craft —  that you are a public persona?
Yes, I am. That’s why you know I make it clear that if I am wearing designer clothes, it’s been rented to me. Because on a public platform – girls want to dress like you, or be like you. For instance, after making the second Shobhaa De statement  (I still completely stand by the first one), I apologised to her. My mom is her age.  It was my own decision because young girls would think that ‘oh if it’s okay for Sonam to say something like that, it’s okay for me to say something like this as well’.

Is there any particular women centric issue that is very close to your heart?
One issue that  I really feel about is domestic violence.  more than anything else. Whether we like it or not, men are physically stronger than us, but for them to show that they are men by beating the women up is unmanly and disgusting. Most women, especially in our country, are dependent upon men for their livelihood, their children and hence keep silent about it. The other issue close to my heart is education – but it’s for everybody, not just women.

Sometime back you said, I’m not here with an agenda to become a top actress. How ambitious do you think you are?
I’m ambitious but for the right reasons, for the right things. I am ambitious for myself as a person — I want to do good work and also have a good life, get married, raise good kids and make a life that I can be proud of.  I don’t want to be ambitious in the sense that I want to be the biggest actress in the world, but 15 years from now find that I have no personal life. I wouldn’t have read the books I want to read, haven’t seen the plays I want to see, I wouldn’t have traveled, I wouldn’t have done anything to the society! So, one should be ambitious for oneself, but as a whole.