EXCLUSIVE | Arjun Kapoor: Rishi Kapoor once called my father & said, 'Your son is a good actor, your future is secure'

Arjun Kapoor had a sensational debut in the form of Ishaqzaade in 2012. The character he played was rustic, loutish, and highly unlikeable, which worked in the favour of the actor. He has made some interesting career choices post the release of that film. He did the very underrated Aurangzeb, he then did 2 States, Gunday, and Finding Fanny in the same year. He rightfully basked in the accolades that came his way for Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, and now has Kuttey coming up, which looks like a heady cocktail of noir and humor.

In this exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor recalls and revisits almost all of his memorable work, how the year 2022 was, expectations from 2023, and father Boney Kapoor making his acting debut at 67.

What was going through your mind on the night of 10th May and the morning of 12th May, 2012?

(Laughs) 10th May I was quite numb. I distinctly remember we had shown the film (Ishaqzaade) to Yash Ji and everyone, and even I had seen the film. On the 10th night, I had shown the film to my family members and friends, and for whatever reasons the show started at 11 in the night. People came out by 2 in the night and I was very worried kahin so to nahin gaye. Everyone who saw the film loved it and I was happy with the fact they enjoyed my first film. But I was numb because I didn’t know what the future held for me. On the 11th of May, my life changed forever. I had already visited theaters, had visited Chadan cinema and could see people whistling on Chokra Jawaan. I also visited Gaiety Galaxy, the interval happened and people started asking for autographs and photographs. On the 12th morning when we woke up, the first day numbers were around Rs. 4.50 crore. Adi sir (Aditya Chopra) told us the film is a success. The success of the film started sinking in once I started getting offers and meeting people over the course of the next few months. On the 12th of May, I was just happy that my film was being liked, I was being liked, and people felt I would potentially be able to work in this industry as a mainstream hero.

How has this year been for you?

This year I completed Kuttey, I released Ek Villain Returns, I’m shooting for Lady Killer, I’ve Muddassar’s film, so it has been jam packed in terms of work. I’m just happy that I’ve been able to do such diverse kind of work. I was very very happy with the fact that people appreciated the way I was looking in Villain. I wouldn’t call this a comeback but this was my first theatrical release after 2019. I wanted people to see a different side to me. Sometimes it’s not important to do the perfect film, you just have to do a film to be able to showcase that you belong to the big screen. I did Ek Villain Returns to be able to tell people that believed in me post Ishaqzaade that I belonged to the big screen. In between, audiences lost faith in me so I wanted to be able to reconnect with them and tell them ‘Listen, I’m here and ready to work hard and look the part.’ To be able to stand against John Abraham, look the part, and give that vibe of a bad boy, reminiscent of Ishaqzaade but with a modern connect. I was very happy with the result of the film in terms of our connect with the audience. I shot in Manali, I shot in Nainital, I’ve shot in Scotland, I’ve shot in Delhi, and I’ve also shot in Film City. It’s been a nice, globetrotting year. I also celebrated 10 years this year and grateful that I’ve been able to shoot all kinds of worlds. Personally, it’s been a very positive year, a very calm year, and I hope it stays that way in 2023.

Your second film Aurangzeb is very underrated. What are your memories of making that film and working with Rishi Kapoor?

Agar aaj aati to bahut chalti. I had a great time since it was my first double role. When I read the script, I told Adi sir that I want to play the cop and he said ‘Poori Zindagi padi hai police waala banne ke liye. You’re too young to play that role. You should play the double role.’ Even Prithvi’s character was so nuanced, so layered and there was so much he was going through. He worked very hard to speak Hindi the way he did. I worked in Ishaqzaade with absolute newcomers. And suddenly, I was on the sets with Jackie Shroff, Rishi Kapoor, Prithviraj, Tanvi Azmi, Siku (Sikandar Kher) was with me in the film, it was an ensemble. I also shared screen space with Amrita Singh with whom I worked in 2 States much later. The fondest memory I’ll always have is working with Chintu uncle and I’ve spent some amazing time with him even in my personal space. There’s a scene where I have to deliver a disc to him and there’s a passage of line. It was my first day of working with him and I was obviously nervous, and the preparation was very important. The next morning I got a call from my dad. He said Chintu called and said, ‘Fikar mat kar, tere bete ki rozi roti chal jaayegi, achcha actor hai, tera bhuddapa secure hai.’ He could’ve given me a patronizing thing and said good job, whatever, but for him to pick up the phone and talk to my father is the best memory I’ll have of him. Apart from that, making the film with him was great fun because his sense of humor is amazing. He used to wear a a fake mustache that he was dying to remove. I love Jaggu dada, he was my favorite actor while growing up. I was obsessed with Anil Chachu (Anil Kapoor) but Jaggu dada used to have the best cars, the best imported cars. During Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, I used to visit the sets not to see the shoot but see his cars. I did Aurangzeb which was an ensemble, I am doing Kuttey which is an ensemble because I want to connect with more people. And Aurangzeb has got a lot of love over the course of time in a niche way I would say. It didn’t get the commercial success it would’ve got today perhaps.

How did you manage to shoot Gunday, 2 States, Finding Fanny simultaneously since all the films released in the same year?

(Laughs) Thanks to my producers and my directors and my team. I was just a young boy, my first film released and I got Aurangzeb. Gunday I remember we started in December 2012. I started 2 States in 2013 January. When I was shooting Gunday, Alia was shooting Highway. I was going from playing a student to a gangster in the 70s and 80s. Finding Fanny was one big schedule in October; by that time I had completed Gunday. I had 7-8 days of work left on 2 States so thankfully the producers of the film and the director Abhishek allowed me to go and complete Finding Fanny. And the fact that Gunday got completed on time, the credit goes to Ali. I was just a young actor and making sure I was omnipresent. Today when I look back, it was very very tough, but everyone around me just made it happen. I remember I shot a sequence at Yash Raj, took a flight to go to Chennai to finish a schedule. I finished Aurangzeb and went for the shooting of my introduction scene in Gunday. I was shooting in Ahmedabad and came back to promote Aurangzeb. I shot for Gunday’s song Jashn-E-Ishq and then I had to go and perform at IIFA. I was quite fortunate.

Now Kuttey is coming up, how excited are you for that?

Very. It’s a character that’s very much imbedded in how people behave in real life. Greed can make you do strange things. It’s a film I’ve worked very hard to make. I’ve always tried to venture out of my comfort zone just the way a commercial hero should do, and that’s why Kuttey is very very special. At a time when Covid-19 was going on, I could’ve chosen to do safer films. I did an Ek Villain Returns and I chose to do Kuttey right after that. For me, that’s my calling, I want to hone my craft. I don’t always want to be bound by commercial success to choose a material. I hope Kuttey gets enough success because you don’t always need that 100-crore number. Sometimes, you just a validation from the audience that there’s space for all sorts of cinema. I hope Kuttey gives me that validation. I’m excited to see the feedback from the audience.

Tabu started with Sanjay Kapoor and Boney Kapoor in Prem, she then did Biwi No. 1 and Virasat with Anil Kapoor, and now she’s working with you in Kuttey. How has that experience shaped up?

It took me a long time to work with her. You know when I went on to the sets with Chintu uncle, Manoj Bajpayee, Irrfan Khan, that’s the feeling I had while working with her. We used to have our chats and become the characters once the shoot began. And the moment the camera used to switch off, we used to go back to our conversations. Our equation is that we are friends, we are proper banters, she thoroughly enjoys the nonsense that I speak and I can be very causal with her. That’s a very unique equation that I have only with her. She made it very very easy for me but our equation has always been easy. For tough films, you need someone who can make things easy for you and literally did that.

Your father’s most ambitious film Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja was not only burdened by the delays but also those unfair comparisons with Mr. India, otherwise it’s a very entertaining film. Your thoughts.

I was very young when that film came out, I was about 7 or 8 years old. The film came out on April 16, 1992 or 1993 something. I grew up watching the rushes of the film. It was my favorite film of that time, it was larger-than-life. I think the intent of the film was right, but it became bigger than the film, a moment of history in Indian cinema. It could’ve met with a lot more excitement and acceptance. It had some amazing sequences that have still not been created in Indian Cinema, like that sequence of Anil Kapoor hanging from a helicopter during a train robbery scene and another chopper with the camera. It had so many sequences of the actors in disguises. Why it didn’t pan out, my father would know better. Also in a very strange sort of way, Ishqiya’s story is very similar. And I love Ishqiya. I went to meet Vishal sir and told him, ‘Aap mere saath kaam nahin karaoge par mujhe Abhishek Chaubey ke saath kaam karna hai.’ So sometimes, the story may not be the problem but the expectations.

A lot of myths have been proven wrong this year with the success of films like The Kashmir Files and Drishyam 2. Do you take the incessant opinions floating around on social media seriously?

You have to go in with a lot of conviction about what you’re making. There are a lot of projects that are designed for various other reasons, ki aajkal audiences yeh dekhna chahti hai. You are also a part of the audience and sometimes, we do believe in these things. There are norms. In 8 out of 10, suppose in those 2 cases, if you make a good film, you can break the convention. Do it conventionally but be innovative too. Look at Pushpa for example, KGF for example, Bhool Bhulaiyaa for example. It’s very much designed by Anees Bhai as a family entertainer. But when a pattern is set, the audiences want a clutter-breaking situation. Suppose Drishyam has done 200 crore, you are now going to find another thriller and adapt it, you’ll take a year to make and release that film and by that time, the pattern would be set by so many films that audiences would want a change. We are actually following a pattern within a pattern. We start thinking that we need a song in the opening credits, we need a situational song, let’s make a family entertainer Barjatya type of a film. You need to follow the purity of the material. The intent has to come from you being the audience member instead of listening to people on social media. The audiences that write opinions on social media is a very small aspect, the theatre going audience is a very different aspect. This can be a reference but not the absolute truth.

What are your expectations from 2023?

I’m starting the year with a release, so I hope it starts on a very good note. I’m very positive about the film and happy with the film, I don’t want to think too far ahead and talk about the next 12 months. I only want to think about the first 15 days. I have three very different films coming this year so I’m very happy that I’m going to be able to put myself out there thrice. I hope people enjoy all three films.

In 2023, we all will see a smashing debut, Boney Kapoor in Tu Jhooti Main Makkaar; how excited are you?

(Laughs) I’m very happy he has done that. It’s about time he enjoys a different field in life and he’s really happy working with Luv. I feel he’s in the best of health and the best of mindset to be able to rejuvenate himself with this process. I know it’s tough to become an actor at this age because you’re not used to sitting around and waiting for your shot, it’s never easy. But I feel he’s richer for the experience and he has a lot more regard for what happens in front of the camera. He has been able to absorb what the new generation feels and thinks as he has been around a new set of people versus the same people he has been making his films with. I feel it will be good fun to watch him, I always joke with him that you’ll be making your debut with Ranbir and Shraddha in supporting roles. But all jokes apart, it’s not been an easy life that he’s had, so it has been a nice break for him to have fun.

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