“BEING WITH THE RIGHT PERSON PUTS EVERYTHING ELSE IN MOTION.”

There’s a lot going on in Sonam Kapoor Ahuja’s life right now. Earlier this year, she made headlines by essaying the role of a lesbian in a mainstream Bollywood film. Right now, she’s all over everyone’s social media feeds, thanks to the promotions for her upcoming film, The Zoya Factor. Between shooting for films, managing her label Rheson and travelling the world with her husband, the actor spills the tea to Cosmopolitan on her long-distance marriage, all that’s keeping her busy, and more.

- Sreeparna Mazumder

“It’s not about being a woman or a man... anyone who has an opinion on the Internet is met with all kinds of voices. Some agree, others don’t. The best way to deal with it is to let people say what they want to.”

Sonam Kapoor Ahuja is in a happy place. Oh, and she’s also in a very busy place. This year, at the 66th National Film Awards, Padman won the Best Film On Social Issues. She’s travelling the world with her husband Anand Ahuja, the Founder of Bhane, and setting major #CoupleGoals on Instagram. And in between shooting for movies and globetrotting, she’s managing to carve out time for her entrepreneurial venture: high-street label Rheson (co-founded with sister, stylist and producer Rhea Kapoor). As I type this, though, Sonam’s busy promoting her upcoming film The Zoya Factor (costarring Dulquer Salmaan), an adaptation of Anuja Chauhan’s novel by the same name. It’s releasing this month, and Sonam is proving to be a marketing whiz, a social media superior, leaving no stone unturned to create the right kind of buzz around the film (including a very addictive vlog series; more on that later).

At the Cosmopolitan India cover shoot, while her hair is being primped and make-up perfected, Sonam’s phone is on fire. She takes more than a dozen calls and texts, gives bytes for The Zoya Vlogs (a daily behind-the-scenes account of The Zoya Factor’s promotions), and discusses outfit choices with Cosmo India’s stylist. “It’s a very special film for me,” she says enthusiastically, “and I’m dedicating all my time and energy on its release.”