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On Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi’s Double Date, Sanjay Kapoor and Maheep Kapoor opened up about their daughter Shanaya Kapoor’s journey towards acting and recalled how her inclination towards the profession became evident to them over the years.
Talking about Shanaya’s decision to pursue acting, Sanjay revealed that it was never a dramatic announcement from their daughter. Instead, her interest became apparent gradually, having grown up surrounded by films and actors.
“She never came and said, for example, ‘Maa, main bada ho kar don banna chahta hoon’ (Mum, when I grow up, I want to become a don). It was never like that. Basically, we knew that Shanaya was inclined towards acting, and she was brought up in that environment. She is working really hard. Even during COVID, she used to train in belly dancing and work on her diction,” Sanjay shared.
Maheep, meanwhile, remembered a particular incident from Shanaya’s childhood that, in hindsight, made her realise just how much she was drawn to the world of films. Recalling Shanaya accompanying her to the premiere of Saawariya, Maheep said, “When I took her for the premiere of Saawariya, Shanaya was very young and she was wearing a lehenga. After the premiere, we all went for dinner at the Marriott with the whole Kapoor khandaan. Shanaya was running up and down wearing her lehenga, just like Sonam. I knew then that she had tasted blood.”
Sanjay also revealed that Shanaya looked up to her cousin Sonam Kapoor while growing up. “She used to look up to her sister, Sonam. Sri (Sridevi) was already married to Boney, but Janhvi made her debut later. It was Sonam whom she always looked up to,” he said.
For Sanjay, Shanaya’s journey also comes with an understanding of the realities of the profession. Having experienced the highs and lows of his own career, he believes she is aware that an acting career comes with its share of both.
“She has seen my journey and she knows there are highs and lows,” Sanjay added.
The candid conversation offered a glimpse into Shanaya’s journey long before she entered the industry professionally, with her parents recalling how her interest in acting was something that grew naturally through the environment she was raised in, the people she looked up to and the effort she began putting into her craft from a young age.
