SHRADDHA GOES DOWN MEMORY LANE

On a lazy winter afternoon, Shraddha Kapoor, in a nomakeup-look, curls up on a sofa and apologises for being approximately 15 minutes late. As she settles in and is asked about her earliest memories of her Street Dancer 3D co-star Varun Dhawan, Shraddha is overcome by nostalgia. “Varun and I were in rival schools. When you’re growing up, if you’re in one school and your friend is in another, your conversations are mostly about how your school is better. This has happened through our childhood,” she says.

“Varun has a very special place in my life and heart. I’ve grown up knowing him. He’s so down-to-earth,” she smiles. So what are her thoughts on the actor Varun? “He’s got a spark which makes the masses feel he belongs to them. It’s so amazing to watch him on the big screen,” she shares.

Shraddha says both ABCD 2 (2015) and Street Dancer 3D are “important” films for her. “ABCD 2 helped me fulfil another childhood dream, that of dancing on the big screen. Street Dancer 3D, and ABCD 2, required me to do professional-level dancing and explore dance styles that Remo (D’souza; choreographer-director) sir brought to India.”

Shraddha reveals she gets “a panic attack” every time she needs to pick up a choreography set. “Questions keep popping in my head – Will I be able to do it? Will it be a one-take shot? What should I wear? This is followed by my team calming me down. As you start rehearsing, you realise some steps are way more difficult than what they looked like. So you strengthen your body, chart a workout plan, set your diet, hydrate yourself and change your sleeping pattern,” she elaborates.

Rewinding to her childhood, she laughs, “I realised I love dancing from the moment I learnt to walk. My parents used to make my brother and I dance. They’d set up big cameras in a way 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 if they played these songs, both of us would come before the mirror and start dancing.”

Varun (Dhawan) has a very special place in my life and heart. I’ve grown up knowing him. He has been the same person, that’s one of his most amazing qualities. SHRADDHA KAPOOR ACTOR