A Bonafide style icon and superstar, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja inherited the film and fashion bug from her parents—her father Anil Kapoor needs no introduction, while her mother Sunita Kapoor was a fashion designer. Ever since her debut in 2007 with Saawariya, Sonam, too, has wowed movie buffs and fashion connoisseurs across the world by striking a sweet balance with her forward-thinking demeanour and old-world manière d’être. The actor, who is gearing up for an exciting new film in 2025 after a long maternity leave, also has inclusiveness and LGBTQ+ rights on her wish list for the year.
In an exclusive with Khush, our two-time cover girl gets candid about love, marriage and being an LGBTQ+ ally.
On fashion and style
One could endlessly write about her sartorial sense. But to her, “Style is being yourself. You can go out in jeans and a t-shirt and totally rock it. As long as you’re confident, you can wear anything. I wasn’t trying to be anybody when I stared dressing and I think that’s why people started following me, because I don’t look like a manufactured doll. Just be happy with yourself.” She goes on to wax eloquent about her fashion icon, Coco Chanel, “because she was such a feminist. She took a bourgeois way of dressing and completely turned it around. I like people who have their own voice. The first designer anything I bought was a Chanel bag, with my own money.”
On something no one knows about her
“I was born oolta (upside down), so now I have a scar on my cheek from the forceps. You can only see it in certain light. The doctors tried to shift me around, but my face got stuck, I guess I was in a hurry to get out. I was born a little late. Perhaps that’s why I’m a punctuality freak now.”
On her wedding day
In May 2018, when Sonam tied the knot with businessman Anand Ahuja in Mumbai at her masi’s house as the wedding venue, #EverydayPhenomenal and #SonamKiShaadi had the world glued to their big, small and smart screens. The couple’s star-studded wedding that was graced by every A-lister from the film and fashion industry, Kareena Kapoor Khan to Janhvi Kapoor. Recalling her favourite part of the celebrations, Sonam shares, “The Anand Karaj, I thought was the most beautiful part of the wedding.” The couple welcomed their baby boy Vayu Kapoor Ahuja last year in August.
On marriage
Sonam has long been a feminist, publicly expressing her thoughts on gender-neutral fashion, equality in relationships and everything in-between. “Marriage does not make you complete—it’s your choice,” she shares. But what makes her sad in the era of situationships is “the fleeting nature when it comes to modern relationships because it is very easy for everyone to walk in and walk out of a relationship. According to me, a relationship needs lot of patience, lots of give and take, and accepting one another with faults. Honestly, looks fade and while it’s important, it’s not the most important thing. As long as you’re healthy and have a good heart, you’ll always look good.”
The actor seeks inspiration for her own marriage with Anand from her parents. “Looking at them, I understood mutual respect and friendship are the basis for everything. They’ve been married for over three decades. Before that, they were in a relationship for over a decade. They met at high school and since they were 16, they’ve only ever had eyes for each other. Even today, my dad treats my mum as if he is obsessed with her. Does that even happen anymore? They’re best friends, which is very important.”
On finding work-life balance
Anand being in a different industry than hers, helped them foster an unbiased understanding for each other and strengthen their relationship. “Anand loved me even though I was nuts. He knows who I am as a person. And not some glamorous heroine. And because we aren’t involved in each other’s industries, when we talk about work, we can offer different perspectives. The conversation is less narrow,” she shares. After becoming a mother, she has prioritized some time off. “I try not to get stressed. Anand wants me to take more time out so we can spend time together, but it’s all about balance. Anand is the love of my life, but I love working.”
On feminism
“My brother, sister and I were raised as equals. A rule for one of us meant a rule for all. It was only when I began working, I realised people thought very differently to the way we’d been brought up. People would say, ‘Oh, she’s so brash in the way she speaks’, and I’m like, I just have an opinion. I couldn’t understand it, I was shocked. They don’t expect an Indian girl to say what she thinks.”
This upbringing allowed her to own her agency and make choices that felt right to her. But after marriage when she changed her name, she got a lot of fire. “Changing my name doesn’t make me less of a feminist. I kept my father’s name and my husband’s, because it was my choice—and isn’t that partly what feminism is about; the freedom to choose? What Anand did in changing his name was extremely progressive.”
On being an ally
With plenty of friends from the LGBTQ+ community at work and otherwise, she has been a strong advocate for their rights. “I like to call myself a LGBTQ+ supporter. It’s just about equality. It shouldn’t matter what colour you are, your sex or your sexual preference. It’s about being a human being. I don’t know why there’s so much fear, I find it very disturbing. Perhaps it’s a privileged way of thinking. I don’t think my mum has ever told me it’s not okay to be straight or gay. Nor did my dad. I guess with my parents being artists and growing up in a bohemian household, it wasn’t an issue. Love is love.”
