“Why Should I Set Out To Marry When I Am Bald Right Now"- Arjun Kapoor

Jyothi Venkatesh

Group interviews with a star on the eve of the release of his film is always a viable risk for seasoned journalists like me because you can never predict what a new and young journalist will ask all of a sudden. Yet I brave the task and decide to sit with a few other journalists to interview Arjun Kapoor when he meets us for the promotion of his latest film India’s Most Wanted, directed by Rajkumar Gupta who had earlier directed films like Aamir, No One Killed Jessica, Ghanchakkar and last but not the least Raid.

It so happened that a young journalist irked Arjun by shooting off his first question,  “Since your last few films like Half Girl Friend and Namaste England did not do well at the box office at all, to what extent are you banking of the success of your latest film India’s Most Wanted?.  Arjun shot back, “As far as you are concerned, Half Girl Friend may have struck as a flop film but the producers are more than happy with the box office records of the film, though I agree that Namaste England did not click at the box office, though my films like Mubarakaan and Half Girl Friend did well”.

In the same vein, Arjun Kapoor continues “As an actor, I am required to build my own legacy. Let’s face facts, we all make mistakes in life. I do not let me get discouraged by my failures and I do not also let my success go to my head. A single Friday cannot define my life. I work and live for myself. I am independent and do not live off some one. One film which does not work does not make me a chronic failure. I confess it does affect me in the bigger picture of life, though my Friday does not make me the actor I am. Any actor, whether it is me or someone else, will have good as well as bad Fridays.”

Arjun confesses that in a small span of his career of just about eight years, from Ishqzaade to India’s Most Wanted, he has seen a lot of ups and downs and hence he does not at all feel that his career is over just because a film or two do not do well at the box office especially because he has always been particular not to let failure go to his heart. I am of the opinion that my films like Ka & Ki and Aurangzeb were big successes as far as I am concerned.

When I asked Arjun what prompted him to take up the offer to be a part of the film India’s Most Wanted which did not look commercial in any way as it does not boast of a heroine, music  or fights, he quipped, ”When a script like that of India’s Most Wanted comes to an actor, he will definitely set out to tell a story regardless of what he is going through in his life, he will jump at the offer and be ready to tell the story as it is told. I admit it was scary to work for the first time in a film that had no song or heroine or fight sequences like we see in films these days but then we focused on the mission for 48 hours, since it is content which is king these days and we are confident on the content of our film and are banking 100 per cent on it.”

Arjun continues. “When I first read the subject, I felt that I should work with Raj. I was supposed to work with him earlier itself when he mooted the idea of making Revolution 20:20 but the studio UTV decided to reduce the number of films that they wanted to produce and the idea was dropped. I decided to say yes to Raj’s offer to cast me in his film India’s Most Wanted even before Raid was released and declared a super hit. Raj Kumar Gupta is a mixture of sensitivity and commerce and I took a chance willingly with him. Raj’s vision is so etched out and I just had to follow his instruction as an actor because he has conviction. I wore just two sets of shirts and did the complete film. It is not at all jingoistic. We shot the film in Golghar since the film begins in Patna.”

Arjun has also completed his work in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Panipat in which he is playing the role of Sadashiv Rao Bhau as well as Yashraj’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar in which he is playing the role of a Jat. “Panipat will be my 13^th film. My Marathi is okay but still I had to work on polishing my knowledge of the language for my part in Paanipat”.

I ask Arjuin about his favorite films as an actor and he replies, “If you ask me which my favorite films are, I’d say without hesitation that they are my first film Ishqzaade, Ki & Ka, 2 States, Aurangazeb and last but not the least Panipat. Among my wish list of filmmakers with whom I’d love to work is Zoya Akhtar, especially after Gully Boy”, Arjun says.

“Every film has its own share of interesting events. It all depends on the director. I generally give a gap of at least a month before I complete a film and hop on to another as an actor. If Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar has been delayed, it is because of various factors. The edit of Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar was going on when the release of Luka Chuppi was released and the makers of Sonchiriya announced that they were releasing. Adi had to follow protocol though he wanted to release the film along with Sonchiriya but when Sonchiriya, Luka Chippi and Badla followed one another, he had no other alternative but to postpone the release of Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar and wait.”

Says Arjun, “I shot for India’s Most Wanted immediately after the schedule of my film Namaste England was over,  but for Panipat, I took a month and a half after India’s Most Wanted schedule was over top spend time to learn horse riding as well as polish my Marathi” .

Arjun confesses that he grew up being an ardent fan of his own chacha Anil Kapoor and says that he respects Anil Kapoor for what he has achieved over the last 40 years of his being a part of the film industry despite not having been hailed as the No 1 or for that matter the most handsome actor. I adored chachu in Mr India. Right now my dad has no plans to remake Mr India or its sequel though we are toying with the die of making either a sequel or a remake. It is my dad’s prerogative to announce the film as and when it is decided and I cannot divulge any details.”

When asked to choose between box office success and critical acclaim by critics for his performance in any film, Arjun confesses that though as an actor he would prefer to have box office success so that he can continue his stay in Bollywood as a successful actor, he says critical acclaim by the critics is like a pat on the back for a performer. “Today let’s face facts; honestly the line between success and failure is blurred especially since the audience is intelligent enough to gauge the performance of an actor. You cannot please each and every one in the audience. I’d say that commercial success comes even if a film is panned by the critics.”

To conclude the interview, I ask Arjun gingerly the most anticipated question whether he is planning to tie the knot with his lady love this year and he answers with a matter of fact stance. “I am only against the media if they want to ask actors a question which hurts them and turn and twist their answers to make a salacious headline to sell their papers or increase the TRPs of their channels. My personal life has had its own ups and downs in recent times but I have always been strong. The media also has always been respectful towards me. I know that I’d be asked a question like this. All that I can say right now is that I am in a happy space personally as well as professionally but why should I set out to marry when I am sporting a bald pate because of my looks in Panipat?

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