Arjun Kapoor in a still from movie ‘Finding Fanny’
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Labelled as the Bad Boy of Bollywood, Arjun Kapoor has a massive problem with tags. And hence with every film, he colors himself with a new hue altogether. But never has anything worked as well as Finding Fanny‘s Savio. The film transports you into another world, where Arjun plays off his real life personality bringing alive on screen an odd man who remains overshadowed by his own losses and his own issues, failing to bring himself to demand for himself what life has in hold for him.
Arjun Kapoor, in a candid interview with Koimoi after the film’s release, explains how insecurity doesn’t feature in his career per say, box office numbers aren’t pivotal in his decision making ways and mostly whether he is keen on doing the Ram Lakhan remake.
You brought a lot of yourself to Savio D’Gama. Did you sink into a certain ease with your role in this film?
Savio is a very bitter, angsty guy. The guy has a lot of emotion and is not clear about your how to get it through to people. He doesn’t know how to express and since he is upset with whatever life has thrown his way, he cannot express even more what perturbs him. He takes a long time to make peace with these things. I like the fact that Homi Adajania gave a nice graph to Savio without imposing a back story. This film had a clutter breaking potential in it. And amidst a Gunday, 2 States and all there was this film a director had offered me right after Ishaqzaade. He had shown a lot of faith in me. The language shouldn’t be a barrier to go beyond and perform. Homi knew me as Arjun, saw me as Parma and he imagined me doing Savio. The character wasn’t relatable but Homi used my facets to add hues to the role. The sarcasm, the dead pan humor, the inability to express, I realized all that while watching the film, in retrospect. But the biggest difference is that in all my films, I look mean, arrogant and obnoxious to women. That’s not me. In all my films I end up looking like that and it is not true for me in my personal life. Savio’s life experiences has made him weak and my experiences have made me strong. That’s what sets apart me and Savio.
Being in the same frame as stalwarts of acting like Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia must have been a great feeling. You have never been shy of ensemble films. It conveys that you are very secure person at work. Rightly so?
Our generation is such that we get excited to work with fellow actors. I did Aurangzeb for that reason, I did Gunday for that reason. Very selfishly I like these films, because I will end up becoming a better actor with such films and such experiences! Rishi Kapoor in Aurangzeb or Irrfan Khan in Gunday, everyone contribute to getting me excited for work. Finding Fanny was a free acting class for me, in fact I got paid for this acting class. Number game is a conversation that happens beyond us. I want to work with everybody and make no bones about it. If people are liking my work and I am being appreciated, there is no reason to be insecure.
Finding Fanny’s end feeling depends from one person to another. Homi, in his interview, explained how it differs for every person. What have you taken away from this film?
Finding Fanny was very therapeutic for me. I could walk away box office bonanza, commercial stuff and become Savio subconsciously. I cut away, my phone used to lie around. There is a sense of nothingness that happened to me. It was so calming! I might have to travel to derive my calm but with this film I got to go away without really going anywhere, in middle of work.
It is understood that Finding Fanny is a niche film that won’t fetch the kind of box office numbers it should given its vein.
There is no benchmark for a film like this. We are the first of its kind. I don’t calculate. Friday to Friday your saleability changes. Eventually you have to enjoy the process and journey. Your scaling as an actor bounces up if a film works but you should push the envelope knowing that no one will lose their house because of you. I love films. Nowhere else in the world will I be able to live so vicariously playing Bala in 70s, Krish in IIM and Savio in Pocouli. I got to live it all in one year. I lived three worlds in a single year. I am not going to make my career choices on box office but can merely hope that the choices I make do well in box office. Audience is judging based on film to film and so the fate is untold till the release.
But you and Alia were the first from the lot of younger actors to make it into the 100 crore club.
Industry doesn’t take the 100 crore club very seriously frankly. The media does. It is a new benchmark to compare all of us. Industry is trying to make films afterall and knows who is capable of pulling off what. Six months later, 150 crores will become the new benchmark. Once more multiplexes open in India 250 crore will become the new benchmark. Till about 5 years back even 50 crores was not spoken of. Numbers are variable and they will keep changing. Eventually your work defines you! May be I am naive to look at it like this. Numbers doesn’t mean your film will be remembered.
You are one of the first actors being considered for the Ram Lakhan remake. Would you like to share any development on the same?
A producer should speak about a film, a director should announce the casting but not an actor. No actor should proclaim what he is doing unless the director has spoken about it. If you ask me, I am keen – ofcourse I am. I am keen to work with Steven Spielberg as well. But they have to make the film. I appreciate Anil Kapoor for not just one Ram Lakahan but his performances in every film he has done, be it a Parinda or be it Biwi No 1. I admire the actor in him. It is very wrong to speak about a film till the producer does. If I speak about a film I am considering that I decide on not doing and it goes to another actor, it will make him feel that he got a rejected film and the world will know about it. It is very unfair, ethically and morally.
