Arjun Rampal turns a year older, and he has a lot to look forward to

One of Bollywood’s most likeable actors Arjun Rampal turned 50 on November 26. Arjun is not just an underrated, underplayed actor but also a kind and warm human being. I remember meeting him for the first time on the sets of Vipul Shah’s Aankhen. He was with Mr Bachchan and Akshay Kumar shooting a train sequence. But Arjun was not intimidated by stardom. Arjun doesn’t get cowed down by the hierarchical system of working in the entertainment industry. That’s why he held his own so confidently against Shah Rukh Khan in Ra.One. He made his slow and steady way up the success ladder.

He was seen giving strong, undiluted performances in films by Prakash Jha (Raajneeti, Chakravyuh) and specially Sudhir Mishra’s Inkaar and Nikhil Advani’s D Day. Arjun has worked hard to find his métier in life. He started off in Bollywood as a model and a close friend of designer Rohit Bal. It wasn’t a very respectful resume to get into a film career with. For a long time Arjun was seen to be stiff and wooden on screen. It took him ages to journey from Rajiv Rai’s Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat 2001 to the rock musician in Rock On.

One  of Bollywood’s underrated actors has repeatedly surprised us with his scene-stealing performances. Arjun’s debut film Moksha (2001), directed by his mentor and cinematographer Ashok Mehta, was a bit of a mess. What came across was an actor of arresting intensity willing to take career risks from the beginning. ArjunRampal shone through the chaotic film  as a lawyer who wants to work forand with the poor. Go back to this performance if you have forgotten how cogent a Rampal performance can be.

In Om Shanti Om (2007), playing a full-blown antagonist to Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun gave a knock-out performance as producer Mukesh Mehra, who, in a fit of rage, kills his wife Deepika Padukone and is later snuffed out by her ghost. It is no secret that Arjun’s role was inspired by Pran in Madhumati. Suave villainy was in vogue  .

In Rock On (2008), swamped by an ensemble cast  of fair-to-fine actors, Arjun stood out as  the  band’s lead guitarist Joe Mascarenhas, torn and tormented, grappling with girlfriend problems, writing songs that  no one would probably hear and inventing new excuses for  living a lie in the  musical band that he called home. Brooding intense and rebellious, Arjun won a richly deserved National award for this performance.

Without a doubt Arjun Rampal’s best to date is Raajneeti (2010). In a vast cast of stars of every gender and shape, Arjun stood out as a Sanjay Gandhi doppelganger. As a power-hungry empirical politician, there was something distinctly psychotic to the character. Arjun brought out the dark shades in the political figure without stumbling over the mounds of  self conscious dynastic dynamics that director Prakash Jha had thrown in the way. Incidentally, Jha repeatedly tapped the best of Arjun in films like Chakravyuh and Satyagraha.

On November 25 is Arjun’s  sister Komal’s birthday. She is exactly a year younger and their birthdays are divided  by 24 hours. So it is two days of birthday celebrations for Arjun.

Says  Arjun, “You just want to be with close family and friends. I’ve seen enough of that  life. I’ve walked on the wild side. Now, I like my life calm. Spending time with my wife and two daughters gives me  a bigger high than anything else.I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ve a rocksteady family life and a career that is known for being adventurous.  As far as the film industry is concerned, I see a lot of intolerance within the industry and from outside the film industry towards actors filmmakers and our work. This is very frightening. We must stop being pre-judging art before the artiste puts forward his idea to the public.”

Arjun’s best is yet to come. In Applause  Entertainment’s The Rapist  directed by Aparna Sen, Arjun has surpassed all expectations, including his own.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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