Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor will next be seen in a biopic on Olympic gold medallist and retired sport shooter Abhinav Bindra. When the actor shared details about the project, he and the film were trolled, with a Twitter user calling it “highly unrealistic, dramatized”, pointing out that all sportspeople’s biopics “follow a template that is so predictable, mundane”.

Kapoor, who gave the user a befitting reply, says, “There is a tremendous amount of hypocrisy. People slander mainstream actors, especially star kids, saying they ‘do the same kind of films’. They also slander actors like me who try to do something new with every film. What does that say about them? They are hating for the sake of it, because it makes them feel better about themselves.”

The 32-year-old adds that it took him seven years to finalize the film’s narrative, as he “didn’t want it to be a stereotypical sports drama”. He explains, “It’s not an easy story to tell cinematically. There is no rags-to-riches story here and shooting is not a dynamic sport. Abhinav is also not an extroverted person. So, it was a challenge.”

Ask if the Ray (2021) actor has consciously chosen to not work on commercial films and Kapoor says, “I don’t want to be a part of projects that I do not believe in. I am very ambitious. Unfortunately, in our industry, ambition is seen as commercial success.”