Exclusive: Akansha Ranjan Kapoor unfiltered on life, relationships and finding comfort in familiarity

Her performance in Guilty was critically acclaimed, she delivered in Ray and now, her next, Monica, O My Darling is all set to get her the applause she deserves. Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, according to her Instagram bio loves acting, is a hair colour enthusiast and has an undying passion for fitness. Ranjan Kapoor is a millennial woman who has aced her social media game, loves her family and friends and is working hard towards achieving her goals. She is a force to reckon with.

But who is she, away from our laptops and phone screens? What are the things that she loves and hates? What makes her happy? What are her quirks? This is why, when I was heading to her abode, for a rendezvous with her, I had one thing in mind—let’s talk about who Akansha Ranjan Kapoor is, offline and unfiltered.

So, Akanksha went to meet Akansha for a chat and I was greeted by the most adorable furry baby, a rescue dog (animal lover, check!). Ranjan Kapoor and I sat down, just two women, reflecting on life, relationships, and more. It was her sheer honesty and candidness that oiled the wheels of this rendezvous. Here are the excerpts...

Cosmo India: How excited are you about your new film, Monica, O My Darling?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: Monica, O My Darling is my third film and I'm super excited because this is the second time I'm working with the director Vasan Bala who gave me Ray, which got me a lot of praise. It’s with Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Apte and Huma Qureshi, who are fab! So I'm really excited because everyone who has seen it, really likes it. So here's hoping it does something for all of us.

Cosmo India: How do you feel being on set?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: Being on a movie set is like, coming back home to me. Like, I love it, so so so much. When I was on the set of Guilty, I thought to myself, 'Oh, God, I can do this for the rest of my life'. I was away from home for over a month during Guilty and I didn't miss anybody! I didn't want to come back home. I would not reply on my girls' group chat because I was just so engrossed. Being on a set is just another high altogether. I don't even know how to explain it. I think everyone who works on a set knows that. You're there for like 12 to 17 hours, sometimes, but you're just happy. So yeah, it's the best feeling in the world, for me, at least, for sure.

Cosmo India: How do you unwind on a day off?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: I have a huge group of girlfriends. I'm also someone who's known as everybody's best friend. I have a lot of best friends, a lot of girlfriends. So I love hanging out with them. I love it when my mom, my sister and I chill together. My sister got married and moved to the same building. So, she's like right here. They meet me down for walks or for a swim. I meet my girlfriends. I love playing sports; I play a lot of tennis and badminton when I have the evenings free, and when I feel like a lump. It's mostly between these three things. Obviously watching TV, and reading books is a given. I'm also a lot into fitness. It's one of my top things to do when I wake up. I work out; I do pilates, yoga, and swimming.

Cosmo India: What do female friendships mean to you?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: Every boyfriend of mine has been jealous of how much I love my girlfriends and what place they hold in my life. For me, I think they are everything; they're my family. The bonds that I made when I was three years old are still as tight as the ones I made four to five years ago. You know, this myth that actresses cannot be friends is rubbish; I've got a bunch of besties who are actresses. My girlfriends are my go-to persons when it comes to work, boys, life, and all the ups and downs.

Cosmo India: Did you always want to be an actor?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: I think my entire life has been shaped around what I've wanted to be, an actor. Even in school, I used to act in plays. I've wanted to be an actor so badly that everything I've done has been kind of centred on that idea. I never had a plan B. When we were in school, people used to say ‘it's so tough, what if it doesn't happen, you have to have a fallback plan’. And in retrospect, I think not having a plan B worked out because I think it was the best way to make plan A happen.

Cosmo India: How were you in college?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: In college, I was that kid who teachers would say is very naughty but not one of those evil ones. I did all sorts of nonsense, but they thought of me as a cutie! I would bunk lectures and always encourage people to try things. I was that girl. I also believe I was a bit misunderstood because I'm such an extroverted, vocal person; I always speak my mind; I'm very honest.

Cosmo India: What is your travel style like?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: I'm not someone to wake up early in the morning and go for a walk on holidays. I'm the person who will party all night, chill during the day, and then do something fun like going to a garden and having a picnic. My friend, on the other hand, makes an excel sheet before we travel, and I tell them to cancel me out from day plans and meet me in the evening. Another thing that is weird about me is that I hate beaches and the sun. I hate hot places. I hate them. I prefer mountains over beaches.

Cosmo India: Do you find comfort in familiarity?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: I am very happy in my ways. I won’t say stuck in my ways, because that’s a negative thing. I am not a fancy food eater. I am not a fancy dessert person. I am very happy with my chocolate ice-cream. I have never tasted pina colada; I have never tasted iced tea. I am very weird like that. But I love my almond milk cold coffee. I have been drinking cold coffee every morning since I was two. I eat anda-toast every morning since I was a child! So I found my space and I am very happy with it. I sleep feeling excited to have cold coffee and anda-toast every morning *laughs*.

Cosmo India: Let’s talk about relationships...

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: My best relationship is the one I'm in right now. I'm seeing someone for about two months now, and I'm as happy as happy can be.

Cosmo India: What is your love language like?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: I think I'm very verbose. I'm very much like 'my boo boo sweetie' type. But I also have another side, because at parties I'm not like that, though I want to be around. So I think comfort is my love language, to put it in basic terms. The relationship I'm in now is like all comfort. I am my true original self and when I'm like this, that's when I know I'm happy in love. In my current relationship, I literally can say, ‘I need attention’ and they are like ‘okay’. So there are no layers, there's no nonsense, there's just comfort and honesty.

Cosmo India: What is the most romantic non-romantic thing they did for you?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: So, I had to wake up for a shoot in the morning at 8:30. He's put an alarm, woke up at 8:00 am, switched on the geyser for me and went back to sleep. And when I woke up, I was like wait, who switched on the geyser, was it on all night and then he told me about the entire thing. And every time he drops me home, he waits till I enter the lift. Oh my god, I really lucked out. He's such a great person. In fact, it's the non-romantic, romantic things that I love. If you send me flowers, I will be like they will die in three days.

Cosmo India: What’s his zodiac sign? Are you someone who looks up these things?

Akansha Ranjan Kapoor: He’s an Aries! When we started dating, I sat and Google-d our compatibility. I have been to tarot readers in general. I love doing all this. But ever since I turned 29, I am like, it’s not all true! Zodiac sign-wise we are not compatible, but I am the most compatible with him! I've retired from this life of checking compatibility online because it's really failed me *laughs*. But also, you know, when I've been unsure I've done all the checking. And I realise since we've been together I'm not checking anything.