You may have watched her on the big screen for over five decades, but don’t make the mistake of assuming that you know Dimple Kapadia. VogueIndia attempts to peel back the layers and discovers that the textbook Gemini is equal parts forthcoming and mysterious
I almost tumble into Dimple Kapadia’s Juhu apartment and shoot a mortified look at her, trying to assess the level of anger she is at. I am half an hour late to our meeting, although through no fault of my own—unseasonal showers have brought traffic across Mumbai to a standstill and my cab broke down on the way here. Erring on the side of caution, I called ahead and informed her manager that I would be delayed, but if there’s one thing I have learnt from interviewing celebrities for over a decade, it’s that you wait on them—never the other way around. Come rain, shine or red alert.
I sit on the couch across from Kapadia, offering profuse apologies and bracing myself for a dressing-down. Instead, the star leans forward and asks, “Are you feeling okay?” Before I can respond, she follows up with another question: “Is the Uber driver okay?” Dumbstruck, I mumble a monosyllabic yes. “Good,” she says with a smile, genuinely pleased, almost as if she were sending out a prayer to tide him over the rest of the inclement day.
Happy A week ago, when Kapadia walked onto the set at Mehboob Studios to shoot her first-ever Vogue India cover, she hoped the gods were smiling down similarly upon her. To be doubly sure, she bent down at the entrance to the studio, placed three fingers on the threshold, put them back to her lips and kissed them; then did the same with the camera. “Was that some sort of a pre-shoot ritual?” I now ask her. “That was a prayer to the universe to save my ass,” she says earnestly.
If that was the case, she certainly seems to have established a direct line to a higher power. Since making her dream debut as the demure titular character in Bobby 51 years ago, Kapadia has been one of those rare actors who has consistently put out good work, with performances in films such as Saagar (1985), Kaash (1987), Lekin…(1990), Rudaali (1993), Dil Chahta Hai(2001) and Tenet (2020), earning her both critical and box-office acclaim. Scroll through her filmography and you’ll see just a few years between 1984 and 2024 that remain unmarked by releases. During the ’80s and the early ’90s especially, it wasn’t unusual for Kapadia to appear in as many as eight movies in a single year. Even at 67, the icon continues to operate on Standard Hustle Time, starring in Pathaan, Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, Murder Mubarak and Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo between 2023 and 2024 alone. Is it to make up for the highly publicised hiatus she was forced into after her whirlwind marriage to superstar Rajesh Khanna in 1973, the same year Bobbyreleased and was declared a smash hit? Did her creative outlet, having been prematurely blocked for 13 years, finally burst—and has it not stopped overflowing ever since? “Cash flow,” the actor deadpans. I look at her expectantly, waiting for a punchline that never comes. “I work for the money. Otherwise I’d rather sit at home.” It is perhaps the confusion contorting my face that compels her to clarify she is joking. “I love what I do. It has allowed me to be so many people in one lifetime.”
That is Dimple Kapadia for you—humorous, hardworking, hopeful and honest to a fault. She is a terrific judge of character and will decide whether or not she likes you within five minutes of meeting you. She is taciturn one minute and talkative the next. Odes have been written to her beauty and anything I add to it will seem pleonastic, but seeing her in person really makes you wonder if God has favourites. I’m sitting close enough for every tiny wrinkle or blemish on her face to be visible, but even makeup-free, the sexagenarian’s skin looks like freshly whipped cream in a bowl. Her hair has a life of its own, fluttering cinematically even though all the windows in her home are shut to keep out the rain. In many ways, this is an analogy for her life—audiences have seen so much of her on-screen that they assume they know what she is like in reality, but the actor is like a house without windows. Her deep-set eyes, expressive as they are, only give away what she wishes to reveal. “I used to be less guarded, but over the years, the mask has come on and people have developed certain notions about me,” Kapadia confesses. “A lot of the time, they come up to me and say, ‘Oh, I thought you were very unapproachable.’ Actually, it’s the reverse. I find people unapproachable.”
UI want to ask her more about that, but before I can, a golden retriever comes gambolling towards us from the next room, followed by her nephew, Karan. Although my neutral expression belies my fear of large dogs, Kapadia promptly stands up and puts herself between Freddy and me without a second’s hesitation. It feels oddly maternal, even though the actor herself doesn’t necessarily come across as motherly. No, she gives off more cool-aunt energy; the kind who would cover for you when you want to go out clubbing with your friends and need to give your mum a PG-13 alibi. Karan, who has lived with his aunt since he was 11, confirms my hypothesis. “Anything that I would be apprehensive about telling my mother, I could easily tell my aunt,” he admits. “She always created such a friendly and open environment that I felt like I could confide in her without feeling judged.”
