Vaani Kapoor: I want to do an all-female action movie soon

A rogue agent and his protégé duke it out in Yash Raj Films’ upcoming production, War. Hrithik Roshan plays Kabir, an Indian operative gone off the rails, posing great threat to the nation. To bring him down, Kabir’s one-time student, Khalid (Tiger Shroff) is brought in. Caught in their bind is a mystery girl played by Vaani Kapoor. Little is revealed about the character yet — except she appears to side with Kabir, as evidenced by the trailer and the Ghungroo song. Vaani, who makes her comeback after a gap of three years, is in no mood to spoil the fun. 

“My character is critically linked to the storyline,” the actor teases. “She is unique, relatable, and something new that I’ve done. Yes, War is a boys-driven action film. A lot of people feel it’s a popcorn movie meant just for entertainment. But there’s a lot of substance to the story as well.” 

War was shot in seven countries across 15 cities. Ghungroo was filmed in Italy, along the scenic spread of the Amalfi Coast. Around 150 dancers were flown in from Milan, and a portion of the Positano beach was shut down for the shoot. Vaani had to prepare for two-and-a-half months for the song, which is choreographed by Bosco-Caeser and Tushar Kalia. “They incorporated two new elements in the number, the cry wheel and the swing pole. I am not a professionally-trained dancer so it was a challenge to learn these forms. It was tough balancing my body on the cry wheel. I tripped on it several times and even broke a toenail. It was excruciatingly painful.”  

Vaani made her acting debut in Shuddh Desi Romance (2013). The film was a romantic comedy co-starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Parineeti Chopra. A year later, she appeared in Aaha Kalyanam, the Telugu remake of Band Baaja Baaraat. Vaani was then paired with Ranveer Singh in Befikre (2016). A love story set in Paris, the film directed by Aditya Chopra was a critical and commercial failure. Vaani admits it was difficult moving on from the disappointment of Befikre. “Initially, you do feel the pain. But there were also people who came up and said they loved the film. They were not judging it. Personally, I genuinely enjoyed watching the film, regardless of my association with it.” Asked what took her so long to sign another project, Vaani states, “It was a conscious decision. I wanted to wait for something better. The projects that came my way weren’t clicking. Then, luckily, Siddharth (Anand, director) put his faith in me and gave me War.”

This is Vaani’s fourth collaboration with Yash Raj Films. She lauds the banner for sticking by its actors through hits and misses. “There’s a sense of familiarity and comfort working with Yash Raj. Their whole foundation is built on amazing moral values and ethics. There’s a lot of loyalty and warmth. I’ve always liked the environment and I feel grateful that I started out with a studio like this.”

After War, Vaani will be seen in Karan Malhotra’s Shamshera, also produced by YRF. The period adventure is fronted by Ranbir Kapoor and Sanjay Dutt. The film follows a dacoit tribe who raid the British establishment in India. Vaani essays a dancer and Ranbir’s love interest in the film. “Shamshera is set in an unexplored era. I loved Karan’s work in Agneepath (2012). He comes with a lot of vision and clarity. It has also been wonderful working with Ranbir. He is super watchable and a brilliant performer, but does not come with the baggage of being a star.” 

Additionally, Vaani wishes to do an all-female action film soon. “I feel it will be new and exciting for our cinema to see an all-women action movie. I would love to star in something like that.”

 War is set for release on October 2, on occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.