‘I AM ENTERING A BETTER PHASE OF MY LIFE’

It’s been 10 years since Arjun Kapoor began his film career, but he refuses to take “anything for granted”. The actor says, “I know how difficult filmmaking is behind the camera since I am a producer’s son and I have also been an assistant director. And as an actor, the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the years is that being in front of the camera is also a lot of hard work.”

The 36-year-old adds, “I am living the life I had never imagined. So, I’m grateful and happy to be a part of this profession and just do good work.”

Kapoor entered Bollywood with Ishaqzaade (2012) and went on to experiment with different genres through projects such as 2 States, Gunday (both 2014), Tevar (2015), Ki &Ka (2016) and Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021), among others. Now, he has Ek Villain Returns, Kuttey and The Ladykiller in the pipeline.

The actor goes on to share that the pandemic gave him a chance to reflect on his life and career. He says, “I’ve had time to process during the pandemic about what has happened to my career and what has happened to me personally. Maybe I’m entering a better phase of my life. I’ve gone back to being more instinctive, impulsive and more of an audience member, because I’ve had to sit at home and discover where I was going wrong and reconnect.”

Kapoor goes on to share that he also stumbled upon the realisation that he is “resilient” and strong. Citing an example of his role in Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, he says, “I didn’t know I had the courage to cross-dress in the climax. When I look back, I feel I’m a very strong person to be able to do something like that. I don’t know how many mainstream actors or so-called commercial heroes would think about doing that.”