Son of producer Boney Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor made his debut in Bollywood with the YRF production Ishaqzaade co starring Parineeti Chopra. Though the film received mixed reviews from critics, it proved to be a blockbuster worldwide, proving to be a good start for both the debutants.
For his second film, Kapoor got an opportunity to play a double-role and the veritable newcomer says it is a challenge that any actor would love to take on in his career.
The 27-year-old in his first film played a hooligan son of a politician and in his second venture Aurangzeb, he ended up playing a double-role.
“It is a challenge that every actor dreams of doing in his career. I got it so soon and I jumped at it. I guess only Hrithik had done this in his first film [Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai]. I got it in my second. For me, the process was interesting to find the two characters,” Kapoor told IANS.
Directed by Atul Sabharwal, the film opened to good reviews. Besides Kapoor, it stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh and Sashaa Aagha.
Kapoor stepped in to play Ajay and Vishal who are completely opposite characters.
If Ajay was the bad boy of Gurgaon who is “violent, rude and misbehaves with women”, Vishal, in contrast, is the small town boy “suddenly dragged into the world of cops and underworld”.
The main challenge was to portray the two characters with conviction, said Kapoor.
“On the sets, while playing Vishal, I used to remember Ajay, so that I don’t play it like Ajay and vice versa,” he added.
He never expected his second film to be like this.
“I was offered Aurangzeb before Ishaqzaade released. I was surprised that they thought I was capable enough to pull off a double-role. Also, when I read the script, I never expected Yash Raj Films to do this kind of film,” he said. “You would probably expect me and Yash Raj to do my next film in a slightly younger, fresher kind of zone. So this is what excited me that it was completely opposite of what everyone had in mind for me.”
The actor said the film reminded him of classics like Deewaar and Trishul.
“I have grown up watching these gritty family dramas with ‘dialoguebaazi’ along with the old Yash Raj dramas like Trishul and Deewaar kind of films. That was what excited me. I got to work with such brilliant actors and work with a good director,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 29th, 2013.
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