THROUGH HER EYES

She is either Bollywood’s last fashion icon, a name shaped solely by lineage, or an underrated performer—depending on who you ask. But who is Sonam Kapoor when the spotlights go off? Over two days in Ahmedabad, ARMAN KHAN attempts to piece together the woman behind the image. Photographed by ASHISH SHAH.

- Styled by RHEA KAPOOR

Sonam Kapoor is looking at the stars. We're on the rooftop garden of a heritage hotel in Ahmedabad, across the road from the 500-year-old Sidi Saiyyed Mosque. Minutes ago, we polished off a traditional Gujarati thali at Agashiye—handvo, jalebis, khatti dal, three chapatis, thirteen kinds of chutneys and a dozen other things I was too busy eating to make a note of. As we walk towards our chairs, her entourage also moves in sync until she stops, turns and asks, “Are all of you going to follow us? Can I please speak to him alone?”

So we do, with only her Dior Toujours bag resting on the glass table beside us for company. “I can’t believe we can see the stars,” she says, her mouth agape. Only a few days ago, she'd shared news reports on her Instagram stories about Mumbai’s worsening air quality. Another reel she shared showed a smog-covered view of what should have been the sea, taken from a city high-rise. ‘This is the price of our dreams,’ it said.

“Every morning, I sit by my window sill, after oil pulling and dry brushing and watch... well, Mumbai's crows,” she shrugs. “My son has picked up my habit of checking the AQI. If it’s bad, he stays indoors.”

In Ahmedabad, away from the dystopia of the city we call home, we slow down. It’s the night of Holika Dahan and bonfires flicker across the UNESCO Heritage City. It feels natural to be shooting with Kapoor at Amdavad ni Gufa, the 30-year-old underground marvel by the late architect BV Doshi and the late artist MF Husain. She has never been to the Gufa, but her bond with the city runs deep.