A decade and 18 movies later, actor Arjun Kapoor says he is now trying to “rewrite” his personal and professional growth through his industry lessons by going back to his “core values.”
Arjun made his debut with 2012’s Ishaqzaade, which was a huge hit and set the stage for the young actor to deliver hits in the romantic drama 2 States and the 1970s action movie Gunday.
He followed this up with films like Ki & Ka, Mubarakan and Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, but there were also failures in Tevar, Namaste England and Panipat.
The pandemic finally gave the actor some time to pause and reflect on his trip to the cinema. He said. “Ten years later I have returned to thinking and feeling as I was in 2010-2011. That’s what I’ve been using for the past two years, to get back to my core values, my core understanding of who I am and what kind of work I would like to do,” the 36-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.
“I think like an audience and try to deliver what I myself as a viewer would like to see. I went back to my base. I try to chart my personal and professional growth during those classes,” he added.
Arjun Kapoor, son of producers Boney Kapoor and Mona Kapoor, said he considers himself lucky to have grown up in a movie family. However, after ten years in the business, he realized that every individual’s journey is different. “During the highs, you may be going through your lows. When I gave Ishaqzaade, I just lost my mother,” he said, referring to his mother’s death just months before the release of his Bollywood debut.
“I couldn’t even celebrate the box office numbers of 2 States and Gunday because I was neck-deep in making more movies at the time. I hid myself in my work, met people, grew, imagined’, he recalls.
During the lockdown, the actor said he has somewhat managed to keep his personal and professional aspects separate in order to have “perspective” in life. “The first five to seven years were like a bullet train. I just went ahead and said yes to movies,” he added.
Arjun, who is currently filming for his 18th movie The Lady Killer in Manali, he said, while he’s not worried about the future, his goal is to make sure his fans don’t feel cheated with his movie choices or acting. “I kept going because I knew I had an opportunity, I have acceptance and I continue to get good work too. Perhaps over the past two years I have been able to analyze and understand my growth.” But somewhere in between being busy with work, the actor said he ended up ignoring his health and gained weight.
Arjun called himself a “realistic person” and said he was aware that he was “falling short” with his audience with the way he looked on screen. “I gained weight for certain reasons while working continuously. When I took a break, I thought these people, anyway, pay good money to come and see my movies, which is maybe half decent. But if I don’t look good, they have every right to criticize.” The praise he received for his performance in his last few films – Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar and Sardar Ka Grandson – motivated the actor to work on himself.
“I had to be worthy to be on the big screen again. I also want the respect of the public in that respect. For the past two years I decided to work on myself again. I don’t want to short anyone who pays money to go to my “They might not be my fans, but I’d love to make them my fans. And that starts with being worthy of being there on the screen. That’s the biggest change there’s been.”
In terms of understanding the craft, Arjun believes he has discovered what “excites” him as an artist. “When I say yes to something, I have to do it for the right reason and not just to keep myself busy. It has to come from a deep-seated place, and that’s how I started my career.”
Years have flown by, but it feels “surreal”, said the actor, that he had the chance to be in front of the camera, a dream he cherished when he grew up in his family, surrounded by people like his father and actors, uncles Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor.
He said, “I have this opportunity to do so much work, meet so many people and interact with so many amazing individuals, go through the highs and lows and still feel the kind of love from the audience.” He believes that luck has been in his favor as he was able to make a mark without following industry standards or formulas for success.
“When I started, people told me to make action movies, intense movies. But I also wanted to make movies like Ki & Ka and Half Girlfriend. I don’t like to be repetitive. I get it, you fit a certain kind of role, but 10 years later I didn’t want to feel like I only played certain kinds of roles or movies. As an actor, it’s also not a good feeling to go to a set,” he said.
It’s impossible to grow as an artist without taking risks, the actor claimed, adding that it’s a shame most people in the industry were still “afraid of failure”.
“We may all want to be successful superstars, but in the end you have to take risks because that’s the whole point of the profession.”
Arjun Kapoor has an exciting series of films in the works, including Mohit Suric’s Ek Villain returns and Vishal Bhardwaj’s production “Kuttey”
