Riddhima Kapoor Sahni recently made her debut with the reality TV series Fabulous Lives vs Bollywood Wives. Her entry into the world of entertainment feels almost inevitable, given that she’s the daughter of late actor Rishi Kapoor and actor Neetu Kapoor.
“Everybody knew this (stepping into the spotlight) would happen at some point. But they didn’t know when,” Riddhima shares, adding, “The decision was made organically when an opportunity [from filmmaker Karan Johar] arose.”
Does she feel any pressure to live up to the Kapoor family legacy? “I’m doing my own thing. I’m living a beautiful life with my family in Delhi. People talk so much about privilege. My privilege is living with my family. I get to spend so much time with them, both in Mumbai and Delhi, and I express gratitude for that every single day. So legacy for me means… I’ll try and prove myself every single day to whatever ability I can and take it from there,” the 44-year-old says.
Naturally, her first sounding board was her mum, actor Neetu Kapoor. “She already had an idea, and she was all for it. She told me, ‘You’ve been a fan of the series. You’ve watched season one and two, and you could have a good time filming it. This is a shot. Go for it,’” Kapoor recalls, adding that she was excited and nervous at the same time. “She asked me, ‘Will you be okay doing it?’ and I told her, ‘I’m slightly skeptical.’ But then she gave me a pep talk, and it all worked out for the best.”
Riddhima reveals that her brother, actor Ranbir Kapoor was also supportive. “Ranbir never says anything. He told me, ‘You want to do it, do it. We are with you and we support you.’ And then he told me jokingly, ‘I know how you are…you will mess it up.’ [Of course] he didn’t mean ‘mess it up’ [literally], but he knows I’m someone who doesn’t hold back and I don’t believe in pretense and drama.”
When asked if she was nervous about how the audience would perceive her, Sahni admits she doesn’t dwell on online reactions. “People will say good and bad things. I never cared about the trolls because unka kaam hai bolna, humara kaam hai ignore karna. The reality is I also got a lot of love online, and I’m grateful for it,” she says, adding, “I do what I want to do, whatever makes me happy. I’m not looking for validation.”
