Born into the Republic of Bollywood, Shraddha Kapoor (daughter of Shakti Kapoor and niece of Padmini Kolhapure) is a girl truly for, by and of the filmi world. This vivacious 20-year-old is as refreshing as warm apple pies on a chilly morning. There is a charm about this girl with the high adrenaline rushes that her age blesses one with – it all fits in, making you look forward to her performance in her debut film, Teen Patti. With stars like Sir Ben Kingsley and Amitabh Bachchan on its roster, the flick is much more than a mere first film for a fresher. “I love everything that begins with the word ‘act’. I simply can’t imagine myself doing anything else – and to work with people who have been immortalised in wax museums and honoured by the Queen, is as overwhelming as sitting on a shooting star. You move fast across the milky way with stars in your eyes,” Shraddha sighs.

Like her character in the film (a studious and ambitious girl named Aparna Khanna) flutter-eyed Shraddha, who studied in Boston, says that she was just as studious but a geek in disguise. “I loved studying Biology and French but an actor is as an actor. I grew up alongside a father and an aunt in the industry, this fate was inevitable. It chose me.”

Besides doing rain scenes on bone-shivering cold nights, she still managed to stick to her script, saying, “You have to really love this profession; there is no other way you will remember your lines when your organs are freezing. You need to be that inspired!” There are a variety of exotic accents in this pretty lady who seems to be handling both her songs and lines with ease and grace. Playing the piano for the last one decade? Yes! Shraddha flashbacks, “I learnt the guitar while preparing for this role, as you must believe, I love all things creative.”

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