‘I TRY TO ACCEPT THE UPS AND DOWNS’
Kunaal Roy Kapur talks about the selfdoubt he faced as an actor, his new web show, his rapport with director Rohan Sippy, and how digital is the way forward
They say, ‘life imitates art’, but in Kunaal Roy Kapur’s new web series, art has imitated his life — albeit just a bit. The actor stars in Eros Now’s comedy, Side Hero (directed by Rohan Sippy), and a part of the show has been influenced by instances from his real life. Talking about the web series, Kunaal says, “I play a guy who is navigating his way through Bollywood and has to come to terms with being a supporting actor. While discussing the script, Rohan and I decided to incorporate instances from my life into the show. We are on the same page when it comes to humour, and this show is an evolution of that kind of humour.” The story includes Kunaal’s personal experiences with body guards, security and media interactions, and the show also takes a dig at celebrities and their lives, and what happens behind the scenes.
With stints in popular films such as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) and Delhi Belly (2011), Kunaal feels he has had a good run in the industry. He says, “I have been acting for a long time, but I have been doing films for only six years. I have enjoyed every minute I’ve worked in a big movie. I hope I keep getting good roles and can work with interesting people. It has been fun, but there have also been many ups and downs too. When you don’t have a release for a good 10 months, self-doubt creeps in. You wonder if you are in the right profession and then something good happens, like a good web series or a good character role, and you feel fine. But you have to accept that this is the way of the industry. You have to take the highs with a pinch of sugar and the lows with a pinch of salt. You can’t take the ups and downs too seriously (laughs).”
The actor feels the rise of the digital medium in India is a good sign for everyone: the audience and content creators both. He says, “It is the way forward. People are consuming entertainment on-the-go and enjoying content that is different from films and TV — be it evolved in sensibilities or adult in nature. But to stay relevant and interesting, we have to make content with international standards of production, as the audience is now watching the many international shows available out there. We are competing with those standards now. We have to push the envelope in terms of content as well, although Indian audiences will relate to Indian shows that reflect our culture and context.”