The letter R seems lucky for Sonam. Raanjhaana, Rakeysh and Rahman have proved turning points in her career. With the two back-to-back triumphs in Raanjhanaa and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Sonam has joined the ranks of the top-most actresses of the country. Some of Sonam’s recent films including the ambitious Mausam directed by Pankaj Kapoor, sank. But Sonam says she was not discouraged. “I love my job. I love acting and keep pushing myself to improve. I am a very positive person. I don’t want to be the no.1 star. I just want to be known as a good actor. Every director I’ve worked with has helped me grow as an actor. Saawariya with Sanjay Bhansali, Delhi 6 with Rakeysh Mehra were important, so were I Hate Luv Stories and Aisha. People loved me in these two films. In fact Aisha gave me the image of what you call the fashionista.” Sonam is also indebted to Pankaj Kapoor. “I learnt a lot from him during the making of Mausam. Aanand Sir (Rai) during Raanjhanaa gave me a lot of love and respect. He coaxed the performance out of me. He never raised his voice, never lost his patience. He nurtured me. But he also allowed me the freedom to make my own interpretations. He gave me a lot of love and respect.” Playing Zoya the girl Dhanush’s character loves blindly in Raanjhanaa was not easy for Sonam. “Zoya is very selfish, very different from the girls we actresses generally play. But there are things about her, including her flaws that make her very human. I identified quite a lot with the character. And considering how self-centred she is, that’s scary. But both Zoya and I are very headstrong. And we both don’t forget and forgive easily.” Sonam says it wasn’t difficult for her to understand the students’ politics of Raanjhanaa. “I am well-read. I like to know what’s going on in the world. Bollywood is not my cocoon. But to get a better idea of the script’s politics I did a month of workshop. That really helped me a lot. I sat with Himanshu Sharma (the script writer) and Aanand Sir. We worked on my character’s body language. The rest was up to the technicians, and of course my co-star. Dhanush is incredible. Working with him was a complete revelation. I’ve never worked with such a talented actor before. When he’s acting he is completely free of vanity or artifice. He’s all emotion. He’s a fearless actor. He is not afraid to do anything that his characters demands.” Raanjhaana was about unrequited love. Sonam feels there are all kinds of love in the world. “And Raanjhanaa is about unrequited love. I enjoyed every moment of the romance. I know a lot of people are looking at only the surface. But there’s so much underneath the obvious in Raanjhanaa. It was a great commentary on relationships today. My character uses Dhanush’s character all through the film. But I repeat, I wasn’t uncomfortable playing Zoya. I don’t think she means to be selfish. If she did the two men in her life wouldn’t love her so much. I had to make sure people didn’t dislike my character. I don’t think Zoya realizes the effect she has on people...until the end when she deliberately uses Dhanush’s character.” Both Raanjhanaa and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag take Sonam away from her fashionista’s comfort zone. She says playing girls who don’t dress up in western clothes doesn’t make her any less fashionable. “Every role needs a particular look. Minimalist dressing also requires a great of fashion consciousness. And why presume that Indian clothes are not fashionable? In Delhi 6, Mausam and Raanjhanaa I had to dress the way normal girls do. But let me tell you, the girl in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Raanjhanaa are completely different. ” Those who saw Sonam in almost every frame of Raanjhanaa so much less of Sonam in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. “It was like a special appearance in Milkha. Rakeysh Mehra has a special fondness for me. And I can never say no to him. For me Milkha was as much my film as Raanjhanaa.” Her co-star was also a temptation. “I wanted to work with Farhan Akhtar. I think he is among our most interesting actors. I got a chance to work with Rakeysh for the second time and the great cinematographer Binod Pradhan for the third time.I consider myself very lucky.” Bhaag Milkha Bhaag also reunited Sonam with Prasoon Joshi. “He is a brilliant writer. He scripted this film. Prasoon has always supported and encouraged me. I know he thinks I don’t know about how vocal he is in my support. But I know. I owe Prasoon a lot. I knew Bhaag Milkha Bhaag would be a cult classic. I just wanted to be part of it.”