Arshad on low phase: People deserted me

Films come and go; some work, some don’t. But an actor must experiment with roles and genres, and that’s what Arshad Warsi has been doing. Irada, the thriller that the 49-year-old starred in this year might have failed to leave a mark, but the comedy, Golmaal Again — a genre that Arshad aces — has come as a respite from his long dry run. Arshad’s last hit film was Jolly LLB (2013). The actor is in a happy space, but constantly reminds himself that in Bollywood, fate changes every Friday, often turning friends into foes. “What happens is that an actor finally ends up being a commodity— as long as it works, people want to be connected to it, if it doesn’t, then not,” says Arshad. And the actor has experienced the dark, selfish side of the industry. “In the phase where my films were doing well, I’d enter a party and would immediately be surrounded by a lot of people. Later, when they (films) started flopping, there would be a vacuum when I went to any such event — no one would be there around me.” Arshad, however, considers himself lucky to have been able to forge tight bonds with some select people. “Like Subhash Kapoor (with whom Arshad worked in Jolly LLB), Rajkumar Hirani, Aditi Rao Hydari, Vidya Balan, Huma Qureshi, Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) and Kabir Khan. They are always there for me, whether I’m doing well or not,” he says. Did the failures at the box office these last couple of years affect the actor in Arshad? “They didn’t affect me much. I have been here (in the Hindi film industry) for too long. I have proved my capability to everyone — my fans and critics. I am glad that today, if a film of mine doesn’t do well, I’m not blamed for it. At least I did my job well. Of course, you want every film of yours to do well, but success and failures both shouldn’t affect a person,” he says.

PHOTO:PTI