Carving her own path - Shanaya Kapoor

IN HER FIRST COVER INTERVIEW, SHANAYA KAPOOR REVEALS HER INSECURITIES, HER PASSION FOR THE CRAFT OF ACTING, AND HOW SHE DISTANCES HERSELF FROM THE RAT RACE TO FOCUS ON HER OWN JOURNEY

- SIMI KURIAKOSE

such a sport

An observation most millennials I have spoken to have about twentysomethings is how comfortable the younger cohort is in their own skin—they come armed with confidence unlike the generations before them. It was no different with Shanaya Kapoor while on the set of Cosmo India’s July/ August cover shoot—also her first-time ever as cover girl. “Can someone play Rihanna’s songs?”—was the only demand she made, and we obliged. In the hours that followed, Shanaya—she’s not even a movie old, mind you—brought forth, for want of a better word, main character energy. Later, as I sat down to interview the 23-year-old, I gauged a sense of ease that one would mostly correlate with the concept of ‘older and wiser’. Here’s a girl who is self-assured (credits to her Scorpio personality as well?) and insightful. However, she mentions that she didn’t develop this self-belief overnight. Over the last five years, she has learnt to distance herself from the rat race and is unfazed by the unnecessary chatter because she is focussed on her own goals. And she intends to keep it that way.

Read on as Shanaya talks about her passion for the craft of acting, how she’s one step closer to her dream, and more.

Cosmo: It was your first cover shoot ever, and that’s got to be memorable, right? How do you feel right now?

Shanaya Kapoor: The experience has been amazing because I’ve worked with a team I know, and that makes so much of a difference. Also, being a part of