The ball is at her feet

Mona

When Sohm Kapila played a footballer in her school play Kicking Out, little did she know that one day she would be playing a part in celebrated director Gurindha Chadha’s musical, Bend It Like Beckham. Born in Pathankot, Punjab, Sohm spent her childhood in Nottingham, England. Now a trained actor, Sohm is based in Los Angeles and all kicked-up about being part of Bend It Like Beckham, which is going to staged at London Westend, that represents the highest level of commercial theatre in England, much like the Broadway in New York.

Sohm’s latest film Honeycomb Lodge won the Best NRI Film award at The Delhi International Film Festival. She has also been part of shows such as Paradox, Waking The Dead, Doctors, Casualty and more. Currently in India to meet her family, Sohm wants to know Bollywood better and invite her industry friends to see Bend It Like Beckham, which opens on May 15 at the London Phoenix theatre. This bubbly, positive girl opens up about her journey…

The beginning

When I was 14 and doing my secondary school in England, our teacher Helen Toft made us stage a play called Kicking Out and I played the male footballer. It made it to the newspapers and the team travelled to other schools to stage the play. I then realised that theatre was a powerful tool and knew then I wanted to be an actress and involved in work that made people think.

In Beckham’s league

In the past two years I have been involved in the workshops for Bend It Like Beckham. This is where a group of experienced actors and Westend actors have come together to try out the songs and content. I’ve been lucky to have worked alongside some of the great actors, including Samantha Barks, Shobna Gulati and Frances Rufelle. I play Teetu’s mum in the musical. She is a great, comedic, snooty character and I am looking forward to explore her character further.

Spicing up

Honey’s Kitchens is a new comedy cooking show I am writing and producing. I am hoping that this new way of sharing recipes will attract audiences and encourage people to try Indian cooking. In Honey’s Kitchen I play both the mother and daughter roles. It currently has a kick-starter campaign, so I can make another four episodes with the crowd funding. The guest on the show is Nancy Mehagian, who was the first person to open a vegetarian restaurant in Ibiza back in the 70’s and has some very interesting food stories to tell which you can hear in the first pilot episode.

Back to the roots

Though my parents moved base to England way early, I have maintained a regular touch with my native land. What I love about Punjab is the food of course, the different tastes and aroma. I have also been filming various methods of cooking from family members and friends to increase my own knowledge for Honey’s Kitchen. What I hate is the lack of sanitation here.

Looking higher

I admire Mindy Kaling, who has written her own comedy sitcom series called The Mindy Project and is the first Asian leading lady in a sitcom in the USA. I also admire actors like Shah Rukh khan and Aamir Khan. Aamir’s recent characterisation in PK really inspired me. I also love the work that Aishwarya Rai does outside of her film career. I think she is a great role model to younger actresses and A-list celebrities have a lot of power to encourage positive action and change for the better among their followers.

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