After stepping into a woman's quite literally shoes, Arjun Kapoor says he has a fresh perspective on how difficult it is to be a homemaker. The actor plays a 'house husband' in Ki & Ka, directed by R Balki. The film, with Arjun and Kareena Kapoor Khan playing the lead characters, is about switching gender roles. “Be it dancing in heels or being in the kitchen, it was a lot of fun to do things which I wouldn't have done otherwise. After doing this film, I understand how difficult it is to be a homemaker. It is one of the most thankless jobs in the world. This film gave me a perspective on how so many homemakers are not given their due,“ says Arjun.

He adds that he needed to work on being comfortable in the kitchen. “I've never gone into the kitchen, except to eat. I have never cooked in my life ­ I tried cooking once and it was horrible. I learnt how to cook for the film so that when the audience watches the film they don't say, 'Arey yaar, lagta nahi ye ghar sambhal sakta hai.' Kitchen is my office in the film and Balki has written a lot of scenes in the kitchen ­ when Kareena's character is leaving for work and I am making breakfast or when she is returning from work and I am cooking. A lot of conversations happen in the kitchen.“

And no inputs came from Kareena on this? “I am not a great home manager myself. But I know the cost of potatoes better than Arjun. He thought they were selling at Rs 120 per kg and I said that we'd be at war if that would be true,“ says Kareena.

Balki says that he deliberately chose April 1 as the release day .“A lot of people might think that the couple is very foolish ­ only a fool will decide to not have any ambition in life and to stay at home and cook, and only a foolish woman would marry a guy like that ­ this is how people think. But the lead characters in the film are not fools, it is the society that considers them to be fools, so keeping this in mind, we planned the release for April 1.“

Ki & Ka, presented by Eros International & Hope Productions, releases today.