A candid chat with Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and daughter Kaveri Kapur

Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and daughter Kaveri Kapur

Actor-singer Suchitra Krishnamoorthi with Kaveri Kapur whose first single Did You Know, released this June. Pics/Sameer Markande

But I don't know how to smile," says a 16-year-old Kaveri Kapur, daughter of Suchitra Krishnamoorthi and director Shekhar Kapur. "How do I pose? Even the concealer didn't cover my dark circles," she moans as mother and daughter pose. "You don't need a concealer. You look great. She's just very tired," says Krishnamoorthi as she looks at her daughter indulgently, who in turn looks at us wryly, taking on that teenage expression that seems to say, ‘what would you know?' We assure her she looks tall and slender and dewy eyed, just like a 16-year-old should and she quips, "I was fat till last Tuesday. It just went away and it will come back soon."

It's 9.30 pm on a Thursday night and Kaveri has just returned from vocal class, and is now planning to work on an English essay that she says will keep her awake till 4 am. "I have procrastinated too much. Homework just sucks," she says as mother Suchitra says, "I will be asleep in the next half hour. Now that she is 16, I am letting go a bit, and starting once again to focus on my work." Both seem to be quite busy though.

Kaveri, along with being busy with homework (she is in Std 10), is a singer now and is working on releasing her new single, Half a Heart, this month. Her first, Did You Know, which she wrote when she was only 11, but released in June this year, was a love ballad with poignant lyrics, with her clear, melodious voice shining through. She also shared stage recently with the UK band The Vamps when they visited India. Her mother Suchitra, who we remember best for Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na and her pop songs from the 90s, is acting in a play based on her 2013 memoir Drama Queen, which is being produced by Ashwin Gidwani, and will be on in September end. This month also sees the release of her next book, The Ghost on the Ledge, the third in her Swapnalok Society series (which are stories set in a housing co-operative).

"I actually didn't know I wanted to be a singer till I went to a studio," says Kaveri adding, "But my parents thought I should do this, and when mom took me to one, I got hooked." But while she credits her parents for pushing her, she is sure she isn't influenced by them. "My love for music comes from mom for sure. But I don't think I am influenced by her writing or songs," she says honestly, and Suchitra laughs, "Why should she be compared to me? She is her own person and is doing what she wants." Kaveri is straight faced and modest when she talks about her first single, which enjoyed rave reviews. "That was surreal. But it was just a song about a boy, maybe…sortaa… maybe it was about how I may feel… you know?" she says, "I just make up tunes in my head, and then record them on the app on my phone. The next song is not really about love… but about saying goodbye."

Suchitra is also still dabbling in music, along with acting. She has composed music for the play, which she says is a funny telling of what happens to a starlet in Bollywood. "I just want people to come have a good time and laugh along. The songs are part of the story and are situations and scenes set to music. The rest is a surprise," she says. The book created waves when it came out because of scandalous admissions such as Suchitra saying she asked director Ram Gopal Varma to marry her, and he replied saying he only loved "women for their bodies". But Suchitra now wants to take her acting career seriously. "I have refused some big roles in the last few years just because I wasn't interested and was busy with Kaveri. Some of those roles went on to win best supporting actress and I was thought ‘damn!'. But now I am more open to offers," she says.

For now, both are busy prepping for their next projects. Kaveri plans to release her single with a video which is in the process of being shot, and then head off to Berkeley once she completes her schooling. She is deeply influenced by singer Adele right now and also describes her sound as being similar to the British songstress… "Soul pop maybe?" she says. And though like other Bollywood kids who are in constant limelight, thanks to racy pictures on their Instagram feeds, Kaveri is nonchalant about it all. "My Instagram account is not that popular. I don't think people know I exist. But that's okay." Suchitra looks protectively at her daughter and says, "She doesn't need to do that all. These kids are doing everything innocently, and it gets blown out of proportion.

Everything will happen when it has to. Kaveri's only aim should be to do what she wants to do. I have raised her in the exact opposite way of how I was raised with people saying, ‘don't do this, don't do that'. I tell her every day - do whatever you want to. Be fearless."