While excited about working with Tigmanshu Dhulia, a director she admires, and on the sequel to Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster, a film that she loved, Soha Ali Khan did have some reservations. “The first SBAG film was pretty explosive,” she says about the intimate scene in the 2011 drama. “One of the first things I asked Tigmanshu was how explosive would this one be? I wanted to know if I’d be comfortable doing them. The ‘intimate scenes’ in this film are very impactful. They are sexy without being in your face. It’s not extra bold for the sake of being bold,” she adds.
Along with Irrfan Khan, Soha is one of the two principal actors Dhulia added to the sequel of his sleeper hit. “Tigmanshu told me that he believes in casting actors who fit the role. He says that correct casting means he won’t have to teach me basics like how to walk or talk like the character. So, we can then just concentrate on the performance.” In Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster Returns, Soha plays Irrfan’s character Raja Bhaiya’s young wife from an aristocratic family who has been educated aboard. “I guess it just worked out,” says Soha with a laugh, adding, “I was really excited to work in this film because I loved the first part and also because I was really keen on working with Tigmanshu. I love thriller as a genre and this gave me an opportunity to explore it further.”
While Soha has been promoting SBAGR, her elder brother Saif Ali Khan has been shooting with Dhulia for Bullet Raja. In the last few weeks, rumours about Saif being upset with Soha’s ‘intimate scenes with Irrfan’ have been reported about extensively but the actress is not worried. “I knew it wasn’t true. No brother would like to see his sister do these scenes but Saif doesn’t interfere. He is a professional who is in the same business as me. He understands the demands of this job. Also, we are grown-up adults who don’t need permissions from each other.”
2013 is going to be an interesting year in terms of films for Soha. She started it with Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children where she played protagonist Saleem Sinai’s younger sister Jamila. “I am happy with the mix I have this year. I know working with Tigmanshu would be one of the highlights of my career. I have just finished shooting a ridiculous comedy called Joe B Carvalho in Bangalore. I get to play a cop and I had a blast.”
Soha believes in and lives by the motto—‘my life, my decisions’. “I am headstrong and very independent,” she says when asked if she consults her mother Sharmila Tagore or brother Saif about the movies offered to her. “I have always made my own choices and mistakes. I would be stupid not to ask mom or Saif for feedback on the films that I have been offered because there is a wealth of knowledge between them. But ultimately, I do what I want to. This is how my parents brought me up and this is why they educated me. I can think for myself.”
Much like Soha, the newest member of the family, Saif’s wife Kareena Kapoor is fiercely independent. “She is lovely. I have known Kareena for five years now. I don’t think marriage has made a difference to her and my relationship. Or, probably to even Saif and her’s. They have been very focused on each other and their careers and that hasn’t changed. We spend quite a bit of time together having meals, going to Pataudi for breaks or just hanging out. I have a lot of respect for her as an actor and also as a person. She balances her fame and work with her personal life with aplomb.”
While Kareena and Saif tied the knot after five years of being together, Soha and her beau and fellow actor Kunal Khemu are in no hurry. “Mum’s been pressuring me to get married for years. But no one should get married under pressure. Kunal and I are in a happy and committed relationship and we don’t feel the need to change the status for now. I don’t crave the legitimacy that marriage offers.”