Exclusive! Sohaila Kapur: Being a journalist helped me become a better performer

Veteran actress and playwright Sohaila Kapur started her career as a journalist before becoming an actor in films and television. She spoke to us about how journalism and storytelling helped her understand human characters better, which translated into her performance.

Sohaila told OTTplay, "Becoming a journalist was my mother's dream, because in her younger days, she wanted to pursue journalism. Since she got married at a young age, which was the norm back then, she suggested I try my hand at journalism because she thought it would allow me to write since I used to write poetry in my school days. She felt that I had a natural talent for writing. I used to do theatre, so I wanted to pursue acting and stage performance. But my father was against it, as he saw me doing free shows and not earning any money from theatre. He was also against me joining the film industry because, back then, young girls from traditional Punjabi families were not allowed to work in films. So, my mother encouraged me to give a journalism exam when the Times of India was looking for a young journalist."

The actress, known for acting in shows like Aarya, Bhaukaal, Special OPS, and The Family Man, among others, shared how, after giving three exams, she packed her bags and went to Mumbai for the viva. She recalled visiting the Times of India office for the first time and sitting across the table from prominent editors and journalists of the time, including Dharamvir Bharati, Vimla Patil, Mukul Sharma, and Khushwant Singh.

"I remember that in the selection process, there were 16 boys from 1,500 applicants across the country and only three girls, and I was one of them. Those were the days! Eventually, after my training, I started covering crime stories. That is when I started reading and understanding characters and human minds more. I started exploring why crimes took place and what the deeper cause is behind the actions," shared the actress, who has also authored a book called Witchcraft in Western India.

Sohaila said that while travelling across the country to cover news stories and interact with people from different walks of life helped her understand human life better, she channelled that knowledge into her performance in theatre.

"There was an interesting exchange between theatre and journalism, and when I look back now, I think that journalism was the right place for me to start a career since it made me a better performer. You see, to perform better, you have to have a better understanding of human emotions, and I gather that from journalism. Of course, I've been doing theatre since 8th grade, so I've known how to perform since then," shared Sohaila.

The actress recently starred in the teleplay Where Did I Leave My Purdah? by Zee Theatre, which also stars Swara Bhaskar, Divya Dutta, and Deepal Doshi. It is available to stream on Airtel Theatre, Dish TV (Rangmanch Active), and D2h (Rangmanch Active)