Arjun Rampal had a fairly quiet 2014. At least in terms of his movie career. After six releases in a space of two years, the 42-year-old took a break from films last year. “Whether it was D-Day, Satyagraha or Inkaar, they were all very intense films. You tend to feel drained after doing films like that back-to-back. Maybe if something that could be made ‘fast’ had come my way, I would have had a release last year as well. But I didn’t want to jump into another film for the sake of making a film.”
Now that he is returning to the silver screen with debutant director Vikramjit Singh’s Roy, Arjun is glad he took the break. “It’s nice to come back in theatres after a break. There is some amount of freshness you bring to your work after taking some time off,” he explains. What caught Arjun’s attention about Roy was “the journey that my character goes on”. “In my industry, people get caught up in creating an image and then living up to that image. When you take that mask off, you find that there is someone else there. Sometimes, you need someone else to show that you need to take that mask off. My character goes through a very emotional and soul-searching journey.”
While Arjun plays Kabir in the film, it’s Ranbir Kapoor who plays the titular role of Roy. Since the film was announced about a year ago, a lot has been written about the length of Ranbir’s role in the film. “I don’t know why people think that he has a cameo in the film. Having said that, it is also not the main lead, but he plays Roy which is the title character. Only Ranbir could have played Roy… it’s a beautiful character. The kind of dignity and intensity the character needed could only be portrayed by Ranbir. I think, this is the first film where he looked so manly… there is none of that boyishness that you see in his other films. I think, Ranbir’s fans will be very happy with Roy. This film would not work if you take out any of our characters.”
This year promises to be quite action-packed for the actor. “After Roy, I will be shooting back-to-back again… I guess that’s just the life of an actor. Sometimes all the work comes in one go and then I have to put my hands up and say ‘no more’,” he says with a laugh. In March Arjun will start shooting Love Affair which is directed by Soni Razdan. “It’s a period film set in 50s’ Mumbai. It’s loosely based on a real-life incident but we don’t have the rights to it. Then I’ll go into a film called Daddy which is based on the life of Arun Gawli. And, towards the end of the year, we’ll start shooting Rock On! 2, which obviously I am very excited about.”
Arjun got into trouble with the Mumbai Police last month when he revealed that he has met former gangster Arun Gawli. It had turned out that the actor didn’t take the necessary permissions before meeting Gawli. In hindsight, Arjun is apologetic about the misstep. “I had bummed into him at JJ Hospital. I was there doing a recce for the film. When I got to know he was at the hospital, I just went by to say ‘hi’. In retrospect, it was wrong of me to do that. I should have waited for a meeting to be fixed through the correct channels. My visiting Gawli unnecessarily must have created a problem for the cops who were there. I will have to have a much longer meeting with him when I start working on the film. I will make sure I get the correct permissions from the police then.”
While his career is back on track, Arjun’s personal life continues to be under the microscope. A lot has been written and said about the actor’s involvement in the Hrithik-Sussanne divorce. While all parties have repeatedly denied all allegations, the rumours refuse to die down. But Arjun is not going to get bogged down by any of the negativity. “I just feel that there is so much of your life that becomes fodder for tabloids. It’s unnecessarily distracting. It becomes annoying for your relatives, immediate family and friends. It’s better to stay away and do what you are here to do. I am in films because I love acting. I am not here to be famous. I want to focus my energies on making quality cinema and nothing else.”