Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 15, 2020)

“Last year was a busy year for me. It’s been fun as I love being on set,” says Aditya Roy Kapur, who shot for three projects — Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak 2, Mohit Suri’s Malang and Anurag Basu’s Ludo — in 2019. He worked without a single day off for a period of six months, “but as I was on a break for two years, I was ready to work hard. It was exciting as I got to experiment with genres that I have not tried before”, states Aditya.

His next release, Malang, stars him in an action role, which he was “longing” to do on screen. “I grew up watching action movies but I had never done one, so, it was thrilling to do stunts and fight sequences in the film. Basu’s film is funny and quirky; a slice-of-life story with multiple segments, which covers a lot of emotions. And shooting with Bhatt saab was an intense and enriching experience. After every interaction with him, I felt a little smarter (laughs). I have met him often but getting to know him while shooting a film led to a different equation between us,” he shares.

Aditya debuted with London Dreams in 2009, and today, looking at his career, he feels fortunate to have found something that he is good at. “When I entered films, the plan was never long-term, but acting soon became my passion. I gave an audition, did a film for that experience. While shooting my first three films, I discovered that acting was something that got me excited, passionate and interested. For me, the last 10 years have been a journey of self-realisation. I have become aware that this is something I want to do, learning on the job and, of course, making mistakes as well,” says Aditya, adding, that he wouldn’t change a thing about his career.

“I have learnt from every film and every filmmaker I have worked with. I learnt that acting is a volatile profession and uncertainty is its nature. You have to try to be unaffected by the highs and lows, and know the fact that it is all transient. One should try to maintain an equilibrium and not be too affected by failure or success. That is the learning. Moreover, in 10 years, I haven’t done that many films, which is why now, I have decided to do more films,” he signs off.

“If marriage happens organically, it will”

Talking about the rumours about his relationship and impending nuptials with alleged-girlfriend Diva Dhawan in 2020, Aditya says, “The rumour got a lot of traction, so much so, that my mother called me to ask about it. I told her there was no truth to it. I am not dating anyone. I am single.” The topic of marriage he says hasn’t really been on his mind. “I don’t plan far ahead or set rigid timelines for goals. If it happens organically, it will.”