Sonam Kapoor Ahuja has come a long way since being a self-admitted motormouth and a perennial fashion icon who could simultaneously ruffle feathers on chat shows and rattle off the names of luxury brands without breaking a sweat. Not to say she isn’t either of those things anymore—the star takes immense pride in being both sassy and stylish—but at 37, and as mum to a newborn baby boy, her priorities have unmistakably shifted. Unexpectedly relaxed and relaxedly expectant just days before her due date, the actor talks to journalist Faye D’Souza about what was, what is and what’s to come.
Faye D’Souza: In your July 2021 cover for Vogue India, you spoke about starting a family at the right time and announced your pregnancy less than a year later. I had a pandemic baby. Is yours a pandemic baby too or was this the plan all along?
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja: We wanted to wait two years after we got married to start trying. Then, the pandemic happened. We were in Delhi at Anand’s [Ahuja] parents’ home at the beginning of the pandemic and we just decided that the timing was right because we didn’t understand the severity of Covid. We went into lockdown soon after and things just kept getting graver, so we decided to wait. I remember doing the interview for Vogue India’s June 2021 issue in April and when my birthday came around in June, I told Anand, “This is it, I don’t think we can wait anymore.” We’d already done all my check-ups with multiple doctors in Mumbai and London and everything looked fine, so we decided to go for it.
FD: You also mentioned that you had a tough first trimester. How did you navigate that challenging period?
SKA: I found out I was pregnant on Christmas Day. Anand was in the other room of our London apartment since he had Covid and I basically Zoomed him and gave him the news. Then we called our parents and told them as well. We had all decided that I would be extra careful since a lot of people in London were getting Covid around that time, but exactly a month later, I came down with a fever, cough and cold. I was terrified and immediately started googling “What happens if you have Covid when you’re pregnant?” It was tough. I was taking progesterone shots in my thighs and stomach—practically everywhere on my body—because I was of advanced maternal age and was constantly throwing up, sick and bedridden. Everyone’s so tense about women who get pregnant after 31 or 32. They tell you don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t get gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia. I was like, “Wait, hang on, I still feel very young. I’ve got my dad’s genes, I look very young. It’ll be fine.”
FD: How did the decision to have a baby pan out career-wise? Were there any films lined up that you had to put pins in?
SKA: I did have two things that I was supposed to do this year, but I will start them next year. I’m giving myself a six-month break after my pregnancy to resume work, even though it seems like I haven’t worked in longer because I haven't had a release in two years. I remember having this internal conflict about whether or not I should take time off but then I realised I have been working since I was 20, so it will be well earned.
FD: So the pandemic is technically the first break you’ve taken?
SKA: No, I worked during the lockdown too. I shot a crime thriller produced by Sujoy Ghosh, titled Blind, whose rights have been picked up by a streaming platform. I actually haven’t kept abreast of what’s happened to the film since I got pregnant but it was completed exactly a year ago.
FD: As the child of famous parents yourself and having dealt with being in the limelight since a young age, what is your stance on bringing up your kid in the public eye? There’s Taimur on one hand who is somewhat of a media sensation while Anushka Sharma has studiously shielded Vamika from the prying eyes of the media...
SKA: Rhea, Harshvardhan and I were kept out of the public eye. Growing up, nobody really knew what we looked like, even though one of my closest uncles, who is also my godfather, was Khalid [Mohamed] mama, the editor of Filmfare. Sure, I was surrounded by media all the time, but it was a very different generation and I wasn’t really ever published. We were very protected and that gave us a shot at a normal childhood. I didn’t attend one of those high-flying schools like Maneckji Cooper, Jamnabai Narsee or Cathedral; I was a regular kid studying at Arya Vidya Mandir where there were no star kids. I was even embarrassed to have my car drop me off. After that, I was sent away to boarding school for junior college and I think it made me a little more world-aware and gave me a viewpoint about things. To be honest, I haven’t decided whether I’m going to school our child here or in London, but I definitely know I feel more at home in India. I’m a proper Bombay girl. There will be the issue of privacy if I raise my child here, but I see many star kids leading completely regular lives so we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
FD: I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about your impeccable maternity style—your choices were bolder than the average mum-to-be and you didn’t hide or cover your bump. I noticed that you got some hate for it on social media. A lot of it was, of course, unfounded and unnecessary, but did you feel like you needed to block it out?
SKA: I think the one thing I have grown out of is reacting to things I don’t need to react to. Thankfully, a lot of it has come with age, but it’s also because I understand that I live a very charmed life. I come from a place of extreme privilege and I literally have nothing to complain about, so if someone is saying something negative about me from behind a keyboard, it really is none of my business. If I put out something to celebrate my body and my womanhood today, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. I have always been the kind of person to publicly discuss issues like dark circles, PCOS, weight gain and stretch marks.
FD: On social media, you’ve touched upon how Anand will take paternity leave when the baby arrives and the two of you will be a tag team when it comes to parenting. Is that the advice you’d give to all parents-to-be?
SKA: Definitely. I think more than Anand, it comes from watching the way Dad and Mum brought us up. I remember my mother sending me to the set of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993) so that my father could look after me because she was handling my brother and sister who were very young at the time. Despite having ample help, their motto was equal parenting. Even after we grew up, Dad was very involved in all of our lives; in fact, after a certain age, he was more invested in our lives than Mum was. My parents are partners in every sense of the word, so I have a solid blueprint on how to bring up my children with the right values.
FD: Are they thrilled for this next phase?
SKA: I think my dad is scared. He doesn’t see himself as a grandparent—for a long time, he didn’t even see himself as a parent—but he was the one who got emotional when I told him I was expecting. He was shooting for Jugjugg Jeeyo in Chandigarh sometime before I broke the news to them and Mum and he were visiting some temples around the area. Now, Dad isn’t particularly religious or spiritual, so when Mum jokingly asked him what he was going to pray for, and he responded, “A grandchild,” she was shocked. One of the most amazing things about Dad is that he has always focused on his daughters’ careers. With him, it was never about “Who are you dating” or “You need to get married.” He always said, “Settle down when you’re ready and if you want, you can even stay at home for the rest of your life.”
FD: Finally, do you think some parts of your career will be different after the baby comes or do you expect it to be the same, considering Bollywood is earnestly rethinking how to not pigeonhole actors who return to the screen post-delivery?
SKA: I always was a little picky. I’m not really in the rat race, I’m just doing my own thing. I don’t think that will change, but priorities do change and I think that the child will become mine. The truth of the matter is that they didn’t choose to come into this world. You decided to bring them here, so it’s a very selfish decision. I will try to do the best I can as a mother, which means that acting will definitely take a backseat, but I don’t think I will ever stop working completely.
Photographed by Ben Weller
Styled by Kate Phelan
Makeup: Lisa Eldridge
Hair: Neil Moodie/ Bryant Artists
Photographer’s agency: CLM
Stylist’s agency: CLM
Assistant stylists: Rupangi Grover and Honey Sweet Elias
Photographer’s assistants: Robert Self, Conor Clarke and Keir Laird
Production: Nm Productions
Post production: Grain Post Production
Visuals bookings editor: Savio Gerhart
Editorial Coordinator: Archana Thani
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We want what Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Anand Ahuja have
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja is pregnant with her first child and her maternity photos are stunning
Inside Sonam Kapoor Ahuja's intimate, art-filled London home and studio
