Arjun Kapoor: "I don’t ever want to be pigeonholed"

Actor Arjun Kapoor in 'Sardar ka Grandson'. He turns 36 on June 26, 2021.

In 2019, Arjun Kapoor had two releases – India’s Most Wanted and Panipat. While the former opened to mixed reviews, the latter, also starring Sanjay Dutt and Kriti Sanon, was a box office failure. Things didn’t seem to be going Kapoor's way last year either, when a film of his got delayed because of the pandemic. Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar finally saw a theatrical release this March and recently started streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

The reviews have been polarised – some have called it ‘a masterful takedown of Indian masculinity’, while others have found the need for tighter editing. Most, however, have one thing in common – appreciation for the way Kapoor has played his character Satinder Dahiya, nicknamed Pinky, a suspended Haryanvi cop who doesn’t mind resorting to unethical ways to hustle his way through life.

Arjun Kapoor has been working in films for nine years (Photo: Sheldon Santos)

Although the actor admits that praise for one’s work is a morale-booster, his confidence does not get shaken if a film does not work as well as expected. “Acting is like any other business - it has its highs and lows. It’s a roller-coaster ride, especially when you’re relying on everything coming together. You might give your 100% but the film might not come together and you have to take it on the chin,” Kapoor says. He adds that he has seen both ends of the spectrum with his first two movies – Ishaqzaade that made him the next big talent to look out for, followed by Aurangzeb which underperformed at the box office.

At no point in these last two years did he have doubts about his abilities or choice of career. “Even when my films were not working, I was still doing reasonably well in terms of the opportunities I was getting. I focused on moving ahead and hoping that the next one connects with the audience. You cannot let your work get undermined by just the box office because that is fickle. There are times when you have least expectations from a film and it does wonders, while those you have a lot of expectations from may not pan out that way,” he adds.

Also read: Arjun Kapoor: "My impulse was: this is so bizarre, let me just hear 'Sardar ka Grandson' to say no"

Finding Pinky within

Dibakar Banerjee’s chase movie - which has brought the focus back on Kapoor, and reminded some critics of the spark he showed in his very first film – was shot over three months in 2018, but the actor had to also commit to another three months of prep.

“The prep included Dibakar coming over for lunch, talking about Pinky and his life, working on the dialect with me, reading books and newspapers in English and Hindi, talking about my personal space and what I have been through in life. He wanted to find Pinky in me by doing all that,” he recalls.

The prep also took them to Mahipalpur and Delhi, where Kapoor learnt a few more aspects of police training, meeting suspended cops and learning how to hold a weapon. In the film, he and Sandeep, played by Parineeti Chopra, are strangers who meet each other under unusual circumstances, and so, Banerjee did not let the two meet until two days before they had to begin the shoot, says Kapoor.

“Over the course of those three months, I became Pinky subconsciously because we never spoke about the scenes but about the character,” says Kapoor. The hard work is paying dividends now, with appreciation coming his way for handling the layered character with dignity and sensitivity - especially in the trickier scenes of the movie which could have easily crossed over into caricature territory.

Also read: Arjun Kapoor buys swanky 4BHK sky-villa in Mumbai's Bandra worth Rs 20 crore

Seeking the unconventional

This is not the first time Kapoor has strayed towards the slightly unconventional. Earlier too, his choices have included projects such as the adventurous satire Finding Fanny and the gender-bending Ki & Ka.

“Sometimes you do certain films for your personal experience at an intimate level. Of course, you want the film to do well, but you’re also aware that a film like Finding Fanny is not going to be a 100-crore blockbuster or that Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar is not a film which will get a massive opening or will have people going crazy about it,” he says, adding that it's important for an actor to know the reason for doing a certain film.

Kapoor says he is clear about what he wants when he is picking a project. “I don’t ever want to be pigeonholed. I always try and pick up material that allows me to dabble, discover, push myself in unique ways and to find facets about my own self. At the same time, I do a Sardar Ka Grandson because I get excited by the fact that this story has not been told by anyone. It’s got a fairy-tale quality about it and is something that the entire family can watch together. As an actor, you want to be available to all kinds of genres and keep doing all sorts of work so that you attract different work,” he reasons.

Learn and adapt

Birthdays might be time to look back and reflect on mistakes made and lessons learnt, but for Kapoor who turns 36 today (June 26), it’s an everyday process. A self-confessed thinker and procrastinator, he believes he can be spontaneous and impulsive about many things. “I have this innate ability to procrastinate, learn, adapt and evolve in my own head. How much I use it in my life after thinking is the question,” he laughs, adding that he means to underline and fulfil certain thoughts in the coming few years.

With his father Boney Kapoor being a famous producer, it is but natural to ask if these future plans include him getting into that aspect of filmmaking as well. “Of course, production, direction, the sky is the limit,” he says, adding that while the pandemic did put a break on a lot of plans, it also gave impetus to others.

Kapoor, who will complete a decade in Bollywood next year, is no hurry to take the plunge either. “It can happen next year, after three years or after five years. I am 36 now, in the prime phase of an actor’s life. I have eight-nine years of good work behind me. Today, I am in a position to multi-task, make firm choices and vouch for material. I can go by my gut feeling and even decide to co-produce a film tomorrow if I want to. The opportunities are endless when you survive long enough in this profession,” he says.

With his father Boney and uncles Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor in the movie business for the past many decades, it’s a given that he has grown up observing and learning from their respective highs and lows. Ultimately, Kapoor believes it is each one’s own journey to undertake. “Whether it is me...or anyone else in the family involved in this profession, everyone is living their own journeys... No matter how many tips or advice you get, what’s important is what will come from within you. Sanjay chachu or Anil chachu can tell me 20 things, but what I go and do on a film set is what defines me,” he says.

What he observes becomes a part of his subconscious mind but at the forefront, he believes, is his own experience and personality that has helped shape him in this profession.

Personal bliss

On the work front, Kapoor has Bhoot Police with Saif Ali Khan, Jacqueline Fernandes and Yami Gautam. There is also Mohit Suri’s Ek Villain 2 with John Abraham, Disha Patni and Tara Sutaria.

On the personal level, the actor confirmed his relationship with Malaika Arora in 2019. Putting an end to rumours and speculation seems to have done them good. “I think it was important to do that when we felt it was right rather than when people felt the need to know. And I think because we have done it on our terms, we’re very happy about it. Instead of being frivolous and knee-jerky about it, it was important to give it recognition and respect over due course of time because you have to maintain the sanctity of the many lives attached,” he says.

Kapoor is glad that the media has reciprocated that respect. “You know you can be at ease today when you are in public or even in private. We did it for ourselves. It is something that helps us feel happier in life and allows us to focus on our daily lives without overthinking it,” he says.