Kashika Kapoor on working with Arjun Bijlani and Gurmeet Choudhary: 'I did my first performance with them, they are so warm and secure' - Exclusive

Kashika Kapoor exclusive interview

Bollywood actress Kashika Kapoor may be early in her career, but her approach to acting already reflects the maturity of someone deeply committed to her craft.  She began her acting career at the age of 15 and entered films and soon became a well-known figure in music videos. She also appeared in a Bollywood film called Aayushmati Geeta Matric Pass, which received positive reviews.

In an exclusive conversation with Moneycontrol, Kashika Kapoor shared her thoughts on acting with clear insight.

She also spoke about how she selects her roles, the obstacles that have influenced her, and the emotional and physical work she puts into her performances.

Comfortable moving across genres and even languages, she has quickly become an actor audiences are curious about — someone who chooses roles not for comfort, but for challenge.

When asked what guides her decision-making, Kashika explained that it always begins with the soul of the character.

“For me, it always begins with the emotion of the character—whether she has something to say that goes beyond the pages of the script. I’m drawn to roles that either scare me a little or make me question, ‘Can I really pull this off?’ Because if the answer isn’t an immediate yes, that means it’s going to push me.”

Kashika says for her, each new project is a doorway into an unfamiliar world and that is precisely what excites her.

“I also look at what new world I get to enter be it a different socio-cultural backdrop, a new language, a fresh emotional graph. I started working very young, and every project since has been a step in evolving myself, not just as an actor but as a person. If a character helps me break a pattern, or break a myth about myself, I say yes.”

Of all the characters she has portrayed so far, one stands out as her most demanding: Geeta from Aayushmati Geeta Matric Pass.

Kashika recalls just how difficult it was. “Geeta from Aayushmati Geeta Matric Pass has been the most demanding role of my life so far. It challenged me culturally, emotionally, physically—everything. I shot my hardest scene with a 101-degree fever, no sleep, and yet it had to be a one-take because of the emotional intensity.”

For her, Geeta represented more than a script on paper. “Geeta wasn’t just a character; she was a responsibility. She represents millions of girls whose dreams depend on education and courage. I had to unlearn my own upbringing, my city instincts, my body language, even my way of looking at the world. Playing her changed me.”

Kashika described her experience with established actors like Gurmeet Choudhary and Arjun Bijlani as deeply encouraging. Their response to her performance stayed with her. “Working with Arjun and Gurmeet was honestly such a grounding experience. They’re both so seasoned and secure in their craft, and yet so warm. What really stayed with me was their reaction when they found out this was my first performance with them. Both of them actually said, ‘There’s no way this is your first—you look like you’ve done so many before.’”

“Their belief in my work gave me an extra layer of confidence on set, and I’ll always remember that," she added.

Kashika approaches the physical and emotional demands of acting with two very different mindsets. “Yes, the preparation shifts completely.”

For physical scenes, she relies on discipline and repetition. “For physically demanding scenes—like classical dance, action, heavy choreography—I prep like an athlete. I drill the movement until it becomes muscle memory, so when the camera rolls, I’m not thinking about technique but about expression.”

Emotional scenes require inner stillness. “For emotional scenes, I become quieter. I protect my energy. I read the scene repeatedly until I understand not just what the character is doing, but why she’s breathing the way she is. Emotional vulnerability comes from stillness, from allowing yourself to feel without judging it.”

She sums it up by saying, “So one is about building stamina, and the other is about surrender.”