Sonam: “I Am Blessed To Have Such A Supportive Husband”

 Though Sonam K Ahuja, nee Kapoor, loves the lovestory that she  shares with her  co-star Dulquer Salman in her  new release  The  Zoya Factor , her favourite lovestory hands-down , is  the one she shares with her husband  Anand Ahuja.

They’ve been married  more  than  a year now. But Anand’s  devotion to his wife remains undiminished.

Sighs Sonam  , “I’m so lucky, so blessed,  to have a husband who supports me in everything I do. Being married and  pursuing my career  could have really divided my loyalties. But Anand made sure I was  comfortable in   whatever I  choose to do at a particular  time.”

Though  both Sonam and Anand are  busy with their respective careers, they make  sure they  find time to  spend  together. “It is very important  to make sure that a  couple finds enough time to be with  one  another. Once  you are married  your marriage should be a top priority in your life. I am lucky to have married my best friend.So I enjoy every moment with Anand.”

 Right now she’s  torn away from Anand as she’s promoting The Zoya Factor.

Says Sonam, “It’s  a special film because it has  cricket at it core. And cricket  along with  cinema is a religion in India.Do I  follow cricket? I like the game and  I  watch it. But I’m not as  clued in as other  diehard fans  because I am not that uni-focussed on the game.”

The Zoya Factor gave Sonam a chance to  explore another Indian  preoccupation, and that’s superstition.  “Call it  destiny or coincidence. But I do believe that  there’s some force beyond your  comprehension, controlling your  life , pushing you to do things that may not make sense at first. But it’s a part  of a larger design.The Zoya Factor is about factors that make my character seem as though she’s  where  she is for a particular  reason.”

 Sonam says she thoroughly enjoyed  working with Dulquer Salman. “He is  such  huge superstar  in Malyali cinema.  But he has no  vanity ,  or arrogance in him. He’s great fun to work with.We really hit it off well.”

 Wasn’t Pakistan’s Fawad Khan the  first  choice  for  The Zoya Factor? “No, that was for another project The  Battle  Of  Bittora . This  was  always with Dulquer.”

Why did  the project take longer than her usual films?

Sonam demurs. “I don’t think it took longer. The rights  of Anuja Chauhan’s book were  bought, and I was approached for  the  film. Since then everything has been  smooth sailing for  the  project.”

Being at  the centre  of  projects is becoming a  habit for Sonam.Does it  put a sense  of responsibility on her?   “Even if I am  not  the central character -–and I  wasn’t in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Sanju — I still feel   a sense  of responsibility  towards  the  films that I do. The  important thing for me at  this stage  of my career is  to do films I enjoy  doing.I learnt this  from my father(actor Anil Kapoor). To enjoy my work  so much it doesn’t seem like  work.”

Sonam has a couple of new projects  on  the anvil. “These I’ll  talk about at  the  right time. But I will continue to  divide my time between my work and my husband. Anand doesn’t let me feel divided . If he did it would have been very stressful for me to maintain a  balance. But my career and marriage are smoothly aligned.  I guess I am fortunate. But I’ve also worked hard to get where I am . So let’s not give luck too much credit.”