HYDERABAD: When you first meet Arjun Kapoor, it’s easy to see how he has managed to find a connect with the youth. Up close, Arjun is pleasant, open, accommodating and unfailingly polite without any starry airs. Meeting the star to discuss his new action film Tevar, it becomes clear just a few minutes into the interview that this film is special as the actor admits, making the film was an emotional experience. It helped him bond with his father, Boney Kapoor. “It was very emotional at a personal level. Professionally, I was excited to do something for the home production at the right time. I didn’t make my debut with him as I wanted to create a foundation for myself to be an asset to him,” shares Arjun.
Shooting the film also gave him a chance to spend more quality time with his father. “I got to spend a lot more time with him than I have in the last few years. He also got to see how I go about work. Earlier, though he had seen my films, he had never been on set to see me work as an actor,” adds Arjun who says he will cherish the experience for a long time. “It was very nice to have him around. We could have breakfast together before the shoot. These things are very matter of fact for some but for me it was special because I don’t live with him. To have conversations in between work...that felt nice,” admits the 29-year-old.
Barring a few aberrations in his otherwise smooth career graph, Arjun has managed to strike the right chords with audience with films like Ishaqzaade, Two States and the more recent Finding Fanny. “I didn’t plan my releases . It just happened that way. I signed Two States before Gunday but Gunday released first. The idea as an actor is that you should do as many different roles as you can. I didn’t plan that itni saari action films pehle release ho jayegi and do romantic badme (I didn’t plan that so many action films will release before two romantic films).”
Though he says there was a sense of excitement when he was shooting for Finding Fanny. “I knew that Fanny ke baad Tevar hoga, as an actor you feel recharged doing a little eccentric film and then doing an action film,” feels Arjun who watched the 2003 Okkadu on which Tevar is based much before becoming an actor. “I watched it much before signing the film and even before becoming an actor. Okkadu released in 2003 and Dad had shown it to me in 2010. He has a knack for picking good films, he is somebody who really enjoys remaking films whether it’s from Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam for that matter. I loved it.”
Ask him what really appealed to him about the story, he says, “I found this ordinary boy in an extraordinary situation very interesting as a tale to tell. Ten years down the line, the story still stands the test of time. A good guy who takes a chance and helps a girl and how he lands up in trouble doing that is what forms the story. And I really like that thread about this guy who doesn’t know the girl and still helps her. He has no agenda for helping her which I found really fascinating. It was very refreshing from the obsessed love stories you see these days.” Talking about the modifications to the script, he states, “The cultural difference is there. Also in the interpretation, in Okkadu, Mahesh Babu’s role is more larger than life. But in this case, my character is more boy next door till this situation happens.” And relatability is something Arjun takes very seriously.
“As Mahesh is a big star, the larger than life persona worked for him. But because I’m a younger actor, we didn’t want to pitch him as an arrogant hero wannabe. More than the changes to the material, it’s more performance changes here.”
As someone who has worked with stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, the actor has now added Manoj Bajpai to the impressive list. “The nice part is he is a very affable person. But in front of the screen he just transforms into this menacing guy,” shares Arjun.
While he awaits the release of Tevar, the actor who was slated to star in the film based on Chetan Bhagat’s Revolution 2020 reveals, “The rights have gone back to Chetan, so he will decide who will play the characters. UTV had offered it to me but the producer and the writer had some issues with the rights so it’s in limbo right now.”