Sonam Kapoor Ahuja goes from girl bonding to gangster drama

Writer-director Shashanka Ghosh, who’s made five films in 15 years — he debuted with 'Waise Bhi Hota Hai' Part II in 2003 and his last directorial, 'Veere Di Wedding', released earlier this month — now wants to direct three films a year. His stock has clearly risen after the success of his last film, which features Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania, and revolves around female bonding.“I’ve been taking four years to make each film as people have said ‘no’ to me all the time. But now, I’m game. I’m too old to take it easy,” Shashanka laughs.
The filmmaker plans to reunite with Sonam again. “Eight years ago, I had wanted to meet Sonam for a gangster-drama with an 'Alice In Wonderland' vibe which would be shot at Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad. It would have showcased her in a never-seen-before femme fatale avatar but the project was put on the backburner. I plan to revive it,” Shashanka said. “I see Sonam as the perfect Alice!”

Shashanka first directed Sonam in the 2014 romcom 'Khoobsurat', which marked the Bollywood debut of Pakistani actor Fawad Khan. “'Veere Di Wedding' was supposed to happen after 'Khoobsurat' but Kareena got pregnant and the project was delayed. I was the badmaash in the crew, yelling at Rhea, asking her to make this film,” he said.
The film finally got made but Shashanka stayed away from the limelight during the promotions. “I was editing the film right until two days before the release. I fell sick immediately afterwards and I am still catching my breath. The last two months were really hectic. Now, I finally have time to work on my ideas,” he asserts.
The actress-filmmaker duo has also discussed a Hindi remake of Tom Tykwer’s German thriller, 'Run Lola Run', with Sonam stepping into the titular character originally played by Franka Potente in the 1998 blockbuster. “Sonam always says that she is my muse and she is right. She is an intelligent woman who understands screenplay well. So, I have to give her a role she can’t turn down. Sonam doesn’t get enough credit as an actor because she has an equally gigantic fashion image,” Shashanka reasons, recounting the time Sonam set the tone for shooting on 'Veere Di Wedding'. “On the first day with Kareena, I was on the ninth take, when Sonam explained something to Kareena. I don’t know what it was but from then on every scene was canned in one or two takes. Sonam just gets me.”