A loud cheer greeted Arjun Kapoor as he walked onto the stage. But when the conversation turned to happiness, the actor did not talk about the highs that come with being a public figure. “I love being an audience first and getting entertained,” Kapoor said, speaking about his relationship with cinema at the Happpy AiR World 3Ps Happiness Summit 2026, hosted by Happpy AiR (Atman in Ravi) recently. For someone in the film industry, that answer may seem on expected lines. But the 41-year-old actor’s enthusiasm comes from a connection with movies that began long before acting became his career.
“I’m one of those few fortunate people. My passion, hobby and love became my work, which gives me tremendous happiness,” Kapoor, who grew up around film sets, shares. Just a day before the event, the star, known for his work across Ishaqzaade, 2 States and more, shared an Instagram story from a Bengaluru hotel asking for a sequel to Main Hoon Na, while tagging director Farah Khan. She responded with a playful, ‘Agar kisi cheez ko dil se mango… @arjunkapoor lov u,’ further fuelling speculation around a possible sequel.
As a child, the cameras and the hundreds of people running around for a single shot captured his attention. “I grew up on the sets of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993), one of the most expensive films made at that point in time, by my father (Boney Kapoor). I used to go to the sets and get enamoured,” he says, while also admitting that he never felt the need to detach himself from acting to find a hobby. “My therapist of three years keeps asking me, ‘Have you developed any hobbies?’ And I tell her, ‘No, I don’t have any, I’m just obsessed with films.’”
The actor also spoke about how his understanding of happiness has expanded. Kapoor describes how his Labrador, Rafa, has become a source of joy, while joking that learning to deal with his unpredictable moods is preparing him for parenthood. “When my sister moved out, I bought Rafa. He takes over my life, and he doesn’t really give love easily. You have to earn it,” he laughs.
Talking about relationships, Kapoor returned to the idea of having something meaningful to come back to. “I’m not an expert,” Kapoor says sarcastically, garnering loud claps from the audience, adding, “Love is important. Eventually, that’s the core foundation of you fighting the fight. There has to be something that you want to come back home to, something that grounds you or makes you believe there is a reason to stay alive – a reason for you to achieve things together. Of course family is important, but your partner is eventually more important, and then comes your kids,” he opines. Asked why something so beautiful can also create heartache, he responds with a smile, “Wahi toh maza hai, woh sad gaane sunne me. Ashiqui mein maza hai toh hai! (That’s where the fun is. There’s a certain pleasure in listening to sad songs and in being in love. It just is what it is).”