Bollywood Hungama

EXCLUSIVE: Kanikka Kapur recalls Aamir Khans reaction during Batwara 1947 audition: Whos this girl? Shes good, shes good!; reveals, My grandfather still gets nightmares about Partition

After making a mark in prominent films, web series and TV Shows, Kanikka Kapur is now all set to be seen in Batwara 1947, co-starring Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Shabana Azmi, Ali Fazal and Karan Deol. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the period drama is produced by Aamir Khan. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Kanikka Kapur opened up about her memorable and hilarious first professional interaction with Aamir Khan during her Batwara 1947 audition, her familys emotional connection with Partition and a lot more. Kanikka Kapur said, I met Aamir sir during the premiere of Dono (2023). For Batwara 1947, I went through a series of auditions, and my second-last audition took place in his office. He wasnt present initially. However, just as Raj sir (Rajkumar Santoshi) began my audition, Aamir sir walked in. Now, even when youre performing a scene, from the corner of your eye, you do come to know ki koi chal ke aaya hai. So, I could see that he had entered and was observing us with rapt attention. I was scared as well as excited. I kept telling myself, Kanikka, dont break your flow. Concentrate on the scene! He soon left. Later, a unit member told me that Aamir sir had said to Raj sir, Whos this girl? Shes good, shes good! When asked whether shell go to cinema halls to gauge audience reactions on August 14, the day of release, Kanikka confessed, I have no idea what I am going to do (laughs). If theres a premiere, Ill definitely go for it. My whole family is in Delhi. So, maybe Ill go with my best friends to watch the film in a theatre in Mumbai with the audience. Kanikka Kapur then spoke about her familys excitement for the film, I live in a joint family with my grandparents, parents, my younger sister and a dog (smiles). My mother is always excited for all my projects. But for Batwara 1947, my grandparents are the most excited. They had experienced the time of Partition and had to migrate from the present-day Pakistan. My grandmother belonged to Lahore while my grandfather was from Lyallpur. My grandfather is 89. Even today, he gets nightmares while remembering the horrors of partition. At that time, the rioters had attacked his bus but thankfully, he survived. Hence, more than me, hes quite intrigued and excited to see the film. Kanikka added, My grandmother asked me to send the poster of the film. She said Ill post it on my WhatsApp kitty group! Seeing their excitement makes me very happy (smiles). Future plans When asked about her forthcoming projects, Kanikka Kapur revealed, There are one or two projects that are yet to release. I have also been getting some very nice scripts and audition opportunities ever since the trailer of Batwara 1947 was released. Thats a great start. Kanikka Kapur has worked across all three mediums films, web and television. Will she now concentrate more on films, or would she like to continue dabbling in all mediums? Kanikka replied, When I moved to Mumbai, my aim was to work in commercial Hindi films. All the projects I have done so far have proved to be of great help. TV, especially, has been a boon. Most of the people who follow me do so because they saw me on television. I guess thats because TV penetrates even the smallest of towns. I understood the power and reach of television after working in the medium and seeing my follower count increase because of it. Hence, I am glad that I worked across all platforms. She added, Now, I have got this opportunity with Batwara 1947. The intention, of course, is to do films. But theres no hard-and-fast rule that I wont do TV or web. Also Read: Trade predicts that Awarapan 2 will open at around Rs. 12 cr and Batwara 1947 at around Rs. 8 cr: Awarapan 2 will COMFORTABLY beat Awarapans lifetime numbers on Day 1