Sonam-Kapoor.Net is bringing you yet another exclusive. This time, a photoshoot done for G Mag back in March of 1989. Here is the typed article that went with the gorgeous pictures. Disclaimer: My scanner is acting really bad these days so the picture scans are not that great quailty. I am trying to get it fixed so bear with me. Once I do get it fixed, proper scans of all the magazines will be up. Till then, please accept this quality.

Precious Moments: Anil Kapoor With Daughters Sonam & Rhea

We were inside Anil Kapoor's bedroom, and literally on his bed. "This is the first time that the press is entering our bedroom," said wife Sunita, in a tone which was more threatening and less flattering. Spreading milk-white bed sheets on the double-bed, and in a jiffy finding us just the gray-black-white combination quilt and cushions we wanted, Sunita was, as always, superlatively enterprising. The urgency of this photo session was not Anil Kapoor's dates, but Sunita's. Busy with her 'Amaya' fashion designing (the cover costume of all three have been designed by her), Sunita had to fly to Delhi next morning. And we knew that shooting the kids' pictures without the mother would not be possible, for, "I cannot handle my kids," said Kapoor.

Handling one-and-half-year-old Rhea, we discovered later, was like handling a Rajesh Khanna and Shatrughan Sinha put together! If the photographs look comfortable, it is only because of the severe labour put in by a dozen odd people.

One and two,
Buckle your shoe.
Three and four,
Ready for the tour.
Five and six,
Pose for the pix.
Seven and eight,
Please, stand straight.
Nine and ten,
It's time for fun!

And time for Anil Kapoor to break his self-imposed rules. For the first time, and only for 'g', Anil brings out his most prized possessions, his daughters, and presents them to the world......

The shooting is fixed for 7 p.m, but around lunch-time, wife Sunita calls to say the time is disagreeable for the kids. "Eight o' clock is their bed-time, and they will get restless by the time you begin the shooting. How about four o' clock?"

"No," snaps Anil Kapoor, snatching the phone from his wife. It is his day for rest (a last minute cancellation of shooting) and wants to enjoy a long, undisturbed nap. We make a compromise, and fix the appointment for 5:30 p.m.

At the scheduled hour, when we arrive at Shringaar, Anil's residence, the star has just woken up. Sitting in the living room, enjoying his cup of tea, he insists he isn't looking good enough to be photographed. "I was shooting a heavy scene last night and my face usually looks puffed up when I do emotional scenes. It's because I have small eyes. But guess this is better than having dark circles. What you say?"

Anil gets up, stares into the mirror, shakes his head and heaves a deep sigh. "I am very ugly....nobody can help me!" He splashes cold water on his face, rubs cream, even does a quick work-out, but to no avail. He still doesn't feel fit. Twenty minutes later, Anil returns exasperated, but decisive, finally. "I have just realized that it doesn't matter how I look, for even if I look my best, I cannot outdo my two darlings. When I have the two most gorgeous co-stars, why would anyone bother to look at me?" Restful, at last, Anil rushes for his shower.

In the adjoining room, the kids' bedroom, there is commotion, as the kids' maid gets the two girls ready. "I will not make pig-tails. I will leave my hair loose," says Sonam. "I will not wear shoes." says Rhea. Three-and-a-half-year-old Sonam has been informed that she is getting ready for a photo session and hence is a little more co-operative. She calls me 'photo aunty' and calls photographer Jayesh, 'photo uncle'.

One-and-a-half-year-old Rhea, of course, has been told that she is going for a birthday party. So every time the maid pulls her closer to tie her hair or buckle her shoe, Rhea claps her hands and sings, 'Happy Birthday to....'

Managing kids, we realize, as the hours tick by, isn't easy. Rhea want to do everything older sister Sonam does, and Sonam doesn't want to do anything that Rhea does. A plastic blue purse, besides papa Anil, is the bone of contention between the two girls. For a change, Anil Kapoor is the only accommodating model who is ready whenever the camera is. This time, echoes of 'One minute, please' comes from Sonam.

Little Rhea, of course, treats the field as a playground. Combing her sister's hair, eating chocolates, refusing to smile, riding on her papa's back, and finally disappearing into the garden whenever the lights become too much for her. She returns to the camera when she desires, not when she is summoned. It requires the joint efforts of twelve people [three maids, one cook, Anil's make-up man, Anil, Sunita, Sonam, and the 'g' staff] to make Rhea give three successive shoots! That too, not before her demands for Thums-up are fulfilled. She is the genuine 'star' of the evening and the name coined for her is Sridevi! After every shot, she demands two sips of Thums-up.

Arre, Sridevi ke liye Thums-up lao," Anil says, ragging the child. Sunita is amused, "I have broken all discipline for this photo session today. The kids are not allowed to drink aerated water, and are supposed to be in bed by 8 p.m....."

When, after the first change, Rhea disappears to play with the cook, Anil says, "Sridevi ke liye kursi lana!"

The last shot of the day, where the two girls are cradled in the golden chair, becomes the chosen picture for the cover. But after three frames as if intuitvely aware of our requirements, Rhea turns her back, flings her shoes and opens her Sherwani buttons. It is her way of saying 'pack-up!'

Pictures can be seen here.