I don't care what people think about my acting

I believe in giving my opinions and standing up for what's right but in the past two-three years, I thought it was scary to say anything because everything is twisted and a lot of it was damaging my career. People are just nasty.'

Sonam Kapoor puts on a brave front for Neerja.

As Sonam Kapoor munches on her salad, she asks me if she is looking fat.

Wearing a pretty ankle-length dress, the actress looks gorgeous and quite fit.

So I answer no, quite truthfully.

She wonders aloud why she is being made to eat salad, even as she scoops in more mouthfuls.

Sonam is busy promoting her new film, Neerja, based on an air hostess who was killed in a hijacked flight.

She's obviously worked very hard on the film, and is quite emotional about it.

She tells Jahnavi Patel/ Rediff.com what made her take up the film.

Image: Sonam Kapoor. Photograph: Sonam Kapooor/Instagram

What made you take up a biopic?

When I heard Neerja Bhanot's story, I felt it needed to be told.

I'm grateful and humble that it has come to me.

Writers Saiwyn Quadras and Sanyuktha Chawla Sheikh have done a brilliant job.

Neerja was someone who really believed in doing her duty, and doing the right thing. It wasn't that she was talented, or that she could box well or sing like a nightingale or dance like a dream... she wasn't larger-than-life. She wasn't a hero. But because she did her duty and showed courage in the face of fear, she became heroic.

She wasn't trained in military nor did she know how to fly a plane or shoot a gun. She was a normal girl, who faced her fears. Doing the right thing made her extraordinary.

For me, that is the most amazing thing about her.

A year or two ago, before I knew who Neerja was, if someone asked me who my hero is I would have said Mother Teresa, Meryl Streep, Sarojini Naidu, Lata Mangeshkar... They are still my heroes because they have extraordinary talent. But now I would say Neerja Bhanot. She was the youngest recipient of the Ashok Chakra, a civilian who wasn't trained in any battle decided to show exemplary kindness and courage.

Was there any pressure since you were playing a real life character?

The pressure was that she has a family that's still alive. For them, it didn't matter that she was a hero when she died

When I was talking to Rama aunty (Rama Bhanot, Neerja's mother), she told me that people were asking her, 'Aren't you proud of your daughter?' and 'Aren't you proud that you're her mother?'

Yes, she was very proud, but at the end of the day, she said she was an ordinary mother who wanted her child to have a future and live her life.

She has a lot of pride and a lot of grief.

For me, the pressure was portraying her daughter, Akhil and Aneesh's (Neerja's bothers) sister, who loved her so much.

She was called laadoo, she was the laadli of the family.

I was hoping I wouldn't let the family down.

I worked ridiculously hard and tried to imbibe everything about her. It wasn't the mannerisms or voice, all that is superficial. You have to read up on her. If you meet people who know her, you'll know that she was a kind, amazing and shy person. She wouldn't even eat non-vegetarian  though she was a Punjabi and they live on non-veg food. There was so much compassion in her. She was the only vegetarian in her family.

It's sad that her life had to be sacrificed for people to realise that these qualities should exist in every person.

Image: Sonam Kapoor and Shabana Azmi in Neerja

Neerja's mother had visited the sets to bless everyone. How was it having her around?

She had a certain way of saying 'khush raho, jeete raho aur maze mein raho' (stay blessed, be happy).

I felt there was somebody up there blessing the film because this girl's story will inspire a lot of people, especially because a lot of people live on the fence. They are silent and do not stand up for what they believe in.