Meena Iyer (DNA; April 29, 2019)

Of late, Arjun Kapoor has been in the news mainly for his personal life. But in reality, the actor has had a chock-a-block schedule on the professional front. He has been shooting non-stop for Ashutosh Gowariker’s ambitious period drama Panipat, in which he plays Maratha leader Sadashivrao Bhau. Moreover, his other film, Rajkumar Gupta’s India’s Most Wanted, opens in cinemas next month. Arjun plays an intelligence officer who hunts down an international terrorist in the thriller. Hours before its trailer launch, the actor spoke to After Hrs. Excerpts from the conversation...

Are you ‘India’s Most Wanted?’
Not at all. My film is titled India’s Most Wanted and it releases on May 24. I’m glad that people have received the teaser and the poster so well, because it’s truly a movie about the unsung heroes of our country. It is about guys who roam around in regular clothes, whom we would never recognise. We’ve tried to put it out in a genuine way, so the next time people wonder if they are safe in the country, they should realise it’s because of these soldiers who’ve been to hell and who make sure that the negative things don’t reach us. They can’t always stop it, but there is never a moment when they stop trying to protect us.

This is a story of five people who saved a billion lives, whom no one gave a chance to, yet they walked into such a perilous situation. I’m neither holding a gun nor beating and shooting people in the movie. It’s genuinely about how covert missions happen. These five men caught a dreaded terrorist without shooting a single bullet, and that’s an amazing achievement. I’m extremely happy that we have made this film and the audience today is receptive to such a subject.

You once spoke about how filmmaker Aditya Chopra said that you win some, you lose some, but you’ve to be the person you are. But aren’t you young for that level of maturity?
Aurangzeb (my second film) flopped, but I moved ahead. My upbringing has been about ‘you win some, you lose some’. So, I’ve accepted that it happens to the best of us.

Aurangzeb is one of the most underrated films.
I agree. It might have had a better chance with today’s audience. It would have garnered more respect and attention for being something unique from the YRF stable. That was the point when Adi sir spoke to me and said, ‘Your first film did well, your second didn’t.’ These things happen. How you survive failure is what makes you a star. People will write you off, they will run you down and doubt you. That is how the industry and the world functions. Success toh sabko milti hai. After surviving failure, how you rise to the occasion is what matters.

One also noticed that after Namaste England, there were no toxic articles against you.
People do give you the benefit of doubt. And the media has been decent about it. They understand that we attempted something with the film, but it went haywire.

How much of the onus is yours?
You have to take responsibility. I cannot just blame one person and get away with it. A lot of people tend to blame the director, which is unfair. I made the choice to do the film in full hosh-o-hawaas. But it didn’t translate from the paper to the screen that well. My job is to have faith in somebody’s vision. And if I see that it’s not happening as I imagined it, I still have to see it through. Otherwise, it’s unprofessional. And I have to believe that perhaps I’m over-analysing, but eventually things will fall into place.

Your gut can give you some idea, but you can’t always follow it in the middle of the film. You can give your opinion. You may say 10 things and one or two might be taken. But eventually, you’re an actor doing your job. You’re being paid to do one thing and you do that and go home.

I’m involved as a team player, but I can’t override certain facets. And fair enough, you live and learn. Which is what Adi sir prepared me for. He told me that ‘tu har jagah producer ka beta nahin ban sakta. You can’t show your producer instinct to everybody. You do some films as an actor and learn from them.’

When a film doesn’t work, is Aditya the kind of person you can call for a heart-to-heart?
Definitely. I’ve always had that equation with him and I continue to do so. He keeps telling me that I’m like the nagging wife whom one doesn’t pay attention to (laughs). He will always prepare me. When he sees a trailer, he says ‘mujhe aise lag raha hai.’ If he likes it, he will say, ‘I love it’. If he sees the film, he is honest. He is the first one to say, ‘Boss, I was wrong, I didn’t like it, but it did well.’ Or ‘I liked it, but it didn’t do well.’ He is honest with me and you need such people around you. He keeps me grounded when I’m flying high. He preps me up in the most bizarre way when I need it. Even after Tevar, I spoke to him and he was like, ‘Theek hai, yeh Friday achha nahin gaya. Agla Friday achha hoga.’

Irrespective of Tevar’s fate, director Amit Sharma’s vision has to be lauded. His colours were so beautiful.
I backed the director. Maybe he got his due in Badhaai Ho more than Tevar. His cinematic journey started with ads, continued to Tevar and translated to story-telling with Badhaai Ho. In Namaste England, I backed the thought of a man going to that extent to bring his wife back home.

It’s okay, it happens to the best of us. In the last couple of years, we’ve seen everybody go through ups and downs. The most unexpected films worked and you’ve to salute that. And sometimes, the most expected ones didn’t and you’ve to respect that, too. The audience is getting more honest, they are not going to spending money unless it’s worth it.

So, who is your go-to person besides Aditya? Your sister Anshula has fairly less cinematic experience.
My sister reads my scripts. I give her that much time because you never know what someone might say that will help. I always give her the respect of being an audience member, irrespective of her age. And today, the audience is young. I’ll make her listen to a song, I’ll give her a script to read. I’ll tell her this is the space of the film and then ask her what she thinks about it, if she finds it exciting. Dad is always there, too. Of course, he is my father, so there’s an emotion attached whenever he gives his opinion. But I’ll have to filter out that emotion and see the practicality.

I have my friends who are always around. But, eventually, I decide which projects I want to do depending on what my gut tells me. Adi (Chopra) always asks me, ‘What does your gut say?’ In this profession, you can listen, observe and learn. But eventually, you have to back yourself. In success, it’s easy to do that. In failure also, you have to back yourself because if you have made that choice, you have to learn to live with it. The introspection is not about how the film went wrong, because the audience has already answered that. It is about why did you make that choice to do it? A year back you needed to do this movie, you felt you liked it. But today, the material, which is being offered, is better, so it doesn’t mean that you made a wrong choice then. You still have to follow through it. Circumstances change in your life.

You also have to look at the fact that you need to work, from what is being offered.
Yes. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of sitting at home and waiting for the perfect script. I’ve been working only since the last five-six years. I don’t have an educational qualification. I regard the fact that I’ve got this opportunity to make the most of it. And even financially, you have to sometimes put yourself out there and say, ‘Boss, I need to keep working.’ You observe the careers of big stars like Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar. They keep churning out material; sometimes doing three to four films a year. They are not scared of going out to work.

Like you said, you have to keep going.. 
I’m running a house, so, I have to sometimes take decisions knowing that I can’t sit at home for six months waiting for the perfect film. Once I make enough money, I can do that. Thankfully, now I’m in a better place as compared to the last couple of years. Going forward, I can afford to take some more time to assimilate scripts and take a decision. In the future, I will be more discerning about the scripts that I choose. Jab shuruat ki thi, tab yeh bhi tha ki jo mil raha hai, make the most of that. Toh uss mein kuchh galtiyaan hoti hai, kuchh cheezein sahi padh jaati hain.

Besides Panipat, which other project is keeping you busy currently?
After India’s Most Wanted releases, I have Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar next, followed by Panipat at the end of the year. I’ve been shooting for the historical since the last five months. Ashutosh Gowariker sir told me that he would need six months, because of the kind of scale the film is mounted on. As I’ve got a unique look, I can’t jump into the next project immediately. I’ll wrap it by May end. Then I would like to take a short break in June.

DNA (July 3, 2018)

Boney Kapoor’s next project, which will see him working with Ajay Devgn after 16 years, now has a director on board. It will be helmed by Amit Sharma, who made his Bollywood debut with the Arjun Kapoor-starrer Tevar (2015) that was also produced by Boney. The new project, which apparently is a sports biopic, is likely to go on floors next year as the superstar is busy shooting for his other films. Besides Total Dhamaal and Luv Ranjan’s production, the actor also has his most ambitious historical — Tanaji: The Unsung Warrior — in the pipeline before he begins another movie.

Amit, who is an ad filmmaker, was first noticed for Google’s Reunion commercial, which was about two friends, who were separated by the Partition, uniting decades later with the help of technology.

Currently, he is directing Badhaai Ho, a comedy, which stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Sanya Malhotra. Says a source, “Though Tevar failed to make a splash at the box office, Boney seemed impressed with him. This will be Amit’s first film with a superstar.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 30, 2018)

Three years after their first collaboration with the action-drama Tevar, father-son duo Arjun and Boney Kapoor are getting together for another project. Pegged as a masala entertainer, the film is scheduled to go on the floors next year.

A source close to the development told Mirror, “Boney and Arjun had been planning to work together for a while now and were looking for the right script. The film will be a collaboration between Boney and Zee Studios as producers. Coincidentally, the production house is also bankrolling Arjun’s sister Janhvi’s acting debut, Dhadak, along with Karan Johar. For Arjun’s film, the makers are on the lookout for a director and an actress to play the leading lady.”

Boney confirmed the news, saying, “Yes, Arjun and I are doing a film together which I will produce with Zee Studios. Once the other details are confirmed, I will make an official announcement.” Meanwhile, Arjun has a packed work schedule as he shoots with Parineeti Chopra for Vipul Shah’s Namaste England in London, which is set for an October release. Next, the actor will start work on Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical Panipat with Kriti Sanon and Sanjay Dutt. He has already started horse-riding lessons for the part. Arjun has also signed Raj Kumar Gupta’s India’s Most Wanted, that he has described as, “A tribute to all the unsung heroes who dedicate their lives to protect ours.”

Arjun’s home production is expected to kick off after he wraps up all his other commitments. Tevar, which was directed by Amit Sharma and featured Sonakshi Sinha as the leading lady, also had Arjun’s uncle, Sanjay Kapoor, on board as a co-producer.

MUMBAI MIRROR (June 23, 2017)

Sonakshi Sinha sprang a surprise by shaking a leg with Arjun Kapoor on Thursday during the finale shoot of the dance reality show, Nach Baliye, which he judges. She had reportedly refused to share the stage or even a page with her Tevar co-star after the release of their only film together.

Back then, there were rumours of the duo dating and even planning to tie the knot, which Sonakshi had vehemently refuted. But after that she has kept her distance from the actor till yesterday, when he came on the show with his chachu, Anil Kapoor, and co-stars Ileana D’Cruz and Athiya Shetty, to promote their upcoming wedding comedy, Mubarakan.

According to a source from the sets, after finalists Divyanka Tripathi and husband Vivek Dahiya performed to the remixed version of “Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta” that Sonakshi had recreated with Akshay Kumar in her 2013 release, Boss, from Anil’s original Jaanbaaz song, the senior actor went on the dance floor to groove to the familiar tune. He then challenged his nephew and Sonakshi to join him on stage.

“She readily agreed and both had a lot of fun dancing to the remixed track. There was no awkwardness between them,” says the source, adding that they even posed for pictures together, standing shoulder to shoulder.

Arjun had earlier appeared on the show with Shraddha Kapoor to promote Half Girlfriend, but on that episode Malaika Arora had replaced Sonkashi. They too had danced together!

Sonakshi Sinha on the things on her mind, action and otherwise
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; November 21, 2016)

Sonakshi Sinha’s turning out to be the new action heroine. At a time when action roles aren’t written for heroines, Sonakshi’s a part of two back-to-back action films. Force 2 has released and here’s Sonakshi Sinha talking about how she would like to steer her career from here onwards. Excerpts:

If you had to choose between being part of an ensemble cast in a commercial film and a solo lead, which one would you pick and why?
It will all depend on the role even though today, I have established myself as a potential heroine. Whether it’s credibility as an actress due to films like Lootera and Akira or the commercial blockbusters, I have got it now. So right now, it depends on what my role will be in a film. Whether it’s a film like a so-called potboiler and my role is good, I would love to do it. I have enjoyed doing such roles.

Do awards really matter?
Honestly, right now it’s reached a point where it really doesn’t matter. We have seen so many circumstances where deserving films have been sidelined or not been given the kind of recognition or awards. So who cares anymore?

Most of your films have actually been South remakes...
(Cuts in) No, only four of them. Out of 14! It’s really okay and it’s not even a big deal.

After Akira, you’re back to action in Force 2. Was it a long time calling?
It’s actually an excellent coincidence. Also, both the roles were really good. They were diffeent from each other. Even the kind of action in both the films isn’t the same. They just came to me one after the other. But because the films were so good, I just couldn’t say no!

Between Tevar and Akira, there was a long gap, which we can rarely see in your career. Do you like back-to-back films or do you enjoy a small break in between?
I have been through this even in the past. I guess after Dabangg, there was a gap and then all the films started releasing one after the other. And even after Tevar, I started shooting for these films which came one after another. And it’s a process that everyone goes through, right? Even Anushka faced a similar thing. There was nothing for sometime before PK and then there was PK, Bombay Velvet, Dil Dhadakne Do and all her films started coming out in quick succession. It’s just that you aren’t on screen but your work is still going on. Simultaneously, continuously.

Other than the films you have had sequels of, is there another film of yours which you would want to see as a sequel?
It has to be Akira because it’s a strong woman story...

There are fewer catfights in the industry today. Would you love to do a two-heroine film someday or have you been offered one?
Yes, I have been offered in the past but I probably didn’t take it up because maybe, I didn’t find it as interesting for me to do. If something great comes up, I would love to do a film with another heroine. It would be fun.

Will screen time be a criteria while picking such a film?
No. The role has to be good. I think a lot of us have to change our midsets in that way. If you want to make a good film, if you feel the characters are good, you should do it. Look at the A-Team, Ocean’s Eleven, look at those ensembles and the cast of the film. Everyone has a small part to play in them and nobody cares about their role’s length. They are doing it for the love of making a good film and each one of the characters is memorable. If something like that comes my way I would jump at it.

Is there a dream role in that context then?
I would love to do a film with Priyanka and Alia. We should do Charlie’s Angels! When it’s three of us, it has to be that film..

Arjun Kapoor on growing in confidence over a span of four years and making his mark
Sarita A Tanwar (DNA; May 23, 2016)


How many years has it been now? Six?
What since I became an actor?

Yes.
Four! What six!? You have turned me into an old hag. Six is too much. It’s been four years, exactly four years. You probably feel I am around because I have been around maybe a year before the shooting, the announcement had come that I have signed the YRF film.

Found your comfort zone? In terms of professional work?
Yes. Yes, I definitely feel I have... A lot depends on your audience feedback also. You know, in the beginning, you’re still finding yourself. You are wondering if the films are working because the films are good or even because you have that acceptance from the audiences. Are they coming to see you in a particular film or they’re coming to see a film and you happen to be in it? You need to solve that jigsaw puzzle on your own and connect with your audience when you interact with the audience. When you travel, you to get a sense that nahi yaar, you don’t know what it is, but they are liking something about you and you need to embrace that. You don’t need to fight it, you don’t need to doubt yourself, you need to say okay to whatever it is. Out of 1 billion people, there are about 10-12 people who get this opportunity and I happen to be one of them. There is plausible enough reason to believe the audience likes you. So don’t let any negativity or any confusion hold you back from that. So the first two three years go in figuring that out. I won’t say actors kaan ke kacche hote hai but there are lot of influencing factors when you are starting out, there are lot of people saying a lot of things. So you have to kind of take a step back, put things into perspective.

And actors live in a bubble, without interacting with the audience directly, so they don’t know their perspective.
Correct. I think the one good part about promoting films is that you get to meet audiences. That’s one advantage of going out to promote a film across the country. You get to see the country and the audience and you get to see what they react to. So like the audience in a Delhi reacts to a different film of yours that they’ve liked. The UP audience will react more to a Gunday. Gujarat, you’ll have people talking about 2 States. Every state has a different reaction...so you get a sense. So yes, you need to take a step back in the first one or two years, figure yourself out, enjoy the attention and then kind of... Now, I feel chaar saal is a good enough time for me to accept I’m here to stay. I think also the last film Ki & Ka doing the kind of business it did, kind of consolidated the fact that the audience is interested to watch me as an actor which is important. In the bigger picture, producers are putting their money on me. The kind of film it was, the number that it started with on the first day, was a pretty nice feeling as an actor to do a niche multiplex film and have Rs 7 crore-plus on the first day.

You’ve done so many different kinds of films. What is your comfort space in terms of genre?
I don’t have a comfort space in terms of genre. That’s one thing that no actor should ever find. You should be comfortable being an actor but you should not be comfortable ki main uss type ya iss type ki kar sakta hoon. I want to discover it all...

But for actors some things comes easier.. Be it, action, drama...
I am dying to do a comedy but nobody is offering me one. So I don’t know. Everybody said action is Arjun’s go-to, but my biggest success is 2 States, which has no action. I loved doing Ki & Ka and 2 States and Finding Fanny. Everybody says I’m intense but my sense of humour actually is one of my biggest assets. If you interact with me, you will find that it is one of my saving graces of my personality. I can make a person laugh or smile and cut the tension in the room. It’s just that I come across as a very serious person on face value. As an actor I can be funny, I can be charming, I can be serious, I have all the facets, it’s all about how a director sees me. And I never want to feel that this is my groove and I will stick to it. The fact that I did Ki & Ka because I wanted to again re-emphasises the fact that I don’t live in a groove. Even Half Girlfriend for that matter.

Two choices of yours Ki & Ka as well as Finding Fanny I don’t see any of the boys of your generation taking up a film like that.
Thank you.

What gives you the confidence to say yes to a film like that? Isn’t there that insecurity that will this be accepted?
You don’t think so deeply about not being accepted. You kind of believe that if the film is good, it will be accepted but yes thank you for appreciating the different choices that I’ve made. Finding Fanny was more about, yaar I think not enough ensemble films are made, not enough quirky experimental films are made with enough face value to get attention. My reason for doing Finding Fanny was if I don’t do this now when will I do this? Take chances, I was still young, I didn’t have to think about the consequences. Because the bigger you get, the harder it gets to experiment...

I would say that it’s easier to experiment when you are bigger because by then you know you have your fan base. So intially actors should aim for really safe films.
What is safe today? Ishaqzaade was not a safe debut and it did well. My first film kind of made me realise pushing the envelope is more exciting for the audience today than sticking to conventional films. My reason for doing Ki & Ka was it seemed like a risky film. I liked the fact that we were taking a risk, in terms of that a mainstream commercial Hindi film hero who is so macho in his perception is going to play a home maker. I think the film worked because Balki cast me in that role. I think if it was anybody else from my contemporaries it would have seemed a bit generic. It added a fun twist to it was to see this big burly guy who is like a giant taking care of the house and taking care of a woman and cooking and cleaning and playing house husband. I found that visual exciting. I found that story very relatable, so I went with the emotion of the film.

Having directors like Balki and Homi must have the big driving factor, right?
100 per cent. I think if it was somebody else coming with an idea about a me playing a home maker, I wouldn’t have done it. And of course to do a Finding Fanny you need somebody as out there as Homi. He was the main reason for me to jump in because you got to work with all kinds of people. You cannot always do films for the monetary reasons. You cannot always do it for box-office especially when you are starting out because you really don’t know what’s going to work. Like I said, you know once you keep working then you become even more serious about “no, I don’t want to do this because this will become my positioning’. When I was starting out, I was doing Finding Fanny along with Gunday and 2 States, so if you look at it as a spectrum they were three very different films. I didn’t know which one is going to work and which one isn’t.

A lot of your contemporaries in the same position are not experimenting. Where do you get the inspiration?
The thing is, I never wanted to be an actor. I am not competitive to a point where I want to outdo others and I don’t want to get into that rat race. I want to be a part of this turnaround that has happened in these last two to three years. I feel very proud that we have all kind of survived that wave and we are doing well. There is no sense of out positioning each other because we all have enough going on for us. We have allowed more films to be made, we have allowed more directors to dream, We have allowed more writers to make choices of writing extreme stuff like a Finding Fanny or a Badlapur.

You have always said that ‘I’m limited in a way the roles that I can do because people see me in a certain way because of the way I look.’ But you’ve played the most diverse characters. I don’t see any of your contemporaries doing a Fanny, or a Ki & Ka.
I think that’s primarily because I have made those choices before them so you’ll always think of me first.

I don’t see it.
I do believe I can do action better than all my contemporaries also because I just have the backdrop now with the kind of films that I have done so I’ll always be convincing in an action film. I do see Ranveer being able to do action well. I think we all are finding our grooves. What I said was that people see me in certain kind of roles. I don’t see myself that way. Not even the audience does. It’s the people making films, who are casting you, who always see you in one dimension or in a stereotypical or a way that. ‘oh iski pichli action chali toh...’ I am sure even Varun faces that, when he’s offered those teenybopper films all the time. I’m sure even Tiger would want to do other kind of genres but he’ll always be the go-to guy for masala action films. He’ll also have to find his groove. That’s a constant battle for young actors. But you should take chances I think that’s what I have learnt by doing a Ki & Ka, 2 States and Finding Fanny or even by doing television. You just have to keep working, you never know what’s going to work and you don’t have answers. Like Gunday was supposed to be the sure shot film eventually 2 States did better than Gunday.

How much of divide is there in the kind of films the older guys are doing and the kind of films that younger heroes are doing?
I think there is a divide because the appetite of the audience is a certain way for certain actors. I do believe that they have been moulded into a certain pattern. Because the audience diktat says that when they go to see films of Khans, Akshay, Ajay, even a Hrithik for that matter, he has to play the star. So all of them have to play to their audience, their fan base — and their fan bases are huge — so they have to appease them before anybody else, so their choices are dictated by...log kyu aate hai paisa kharch karne? There is a lot of money riding on them, they would love to take risks I’m sure.

Like Shah Rukh did with Fan.
Which I think is commendable. I think they all take risks. I do believe even a Bajrangi was a risk in that sense. It was not a typical action Eid kind of film. It was an emotional tale of a man and a child. Even for like Aamir doing a Talaash, and Ajay did a Drishyam. Nobody speaks about those films because they all think about Action Jackson first unfortunately. So they all attempt different films but we tend to remember the bigger, flashier, commercial, pot boilers more. So I think the senior stars don’t get their due enough. Look at Akshay, he has done Airlift, and Baby last year.

They are limited because their audiences don’t want to see that.
But the audience has seen them in different films. But there are certain limitations. They cannot make song less films with superstars. You can’t suddenly go dry. The films have to have enough to appease the masses also because the masses do come out to watch them. So they will have that extra song maybe they’ll have that one action sequence or little more dialogue baazi but the material is still getting more relevant and more young.

None of the Gen Next actors don’t really fit into the kind of films that the older guys do...
Correct. We don’t.

Except for Tiger, you all have the multiplex audience on your side and Tiger has — because of the kind of films that the single screen audience.
Correct. He has done two films that played to the gallery. Yes, I have done my Tevar and Gunday. I have enjoyed that side of performing also, and I will never shy away from them. But yes, to the multiplex audience, our films have appealed more to their sensibility. Which I think will change over a course of the next couple of years I might do a massy film and I might discover that even I want to do more of that.

I think those kind of films are dying.
Yes, because now they have become like junk food. Once every six months you get a film like that you’ll enjoy it. Earlier it used to be staple and the multiplex film used to do be once in a while you saw an interesting unique film. Now the interesting unique films are every month.

Multiplex audiences is still essentially the cities right? While single screens are everywhere. So which audience would you rather woo?
Yes, it’s still the cities. But the money in cities is much more. Today four cities can allow you to do Rs 70-80 crores. Between Pune, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, little bit of Gujarat. Look at Neerja, Kapoor and Sons, Ki & Ka these are multiplex dominated areas where these films have done very good numbers. At the same time, a single screen film like Baaghi can do Rs 70 crores because it’s appealing to the rest of the country. So the numbers on both sides. But single screen films are becoming little obsolete now because the audience is now watching Hollywood films all the time. They have the internet and they are aware of what’s happening around the world. Now filmmakers know they are making films for an intelligent mindset and they want to see everything new. They want to see a Neerja and an Airlift and a Kapoor and Sons to discover a family drama of a different kind rather than the song dance routine one. They want to see a macho hero play a typically female oriented character and pull it off. These are the kinds of things that have worked along with a Baaghi, I’m not denying that. But I think Baaghi worked because it is the exception this year. I think because it came at the right time also. There is a certain enjoyment about watching a commercial masala film once in a while. So I think if he is the go-to guy for that then I am very happy for Tiger, I think everybody should have their groove and everybody should appeal to all kind of audiences. I have always believed that an actor should be able to appeal to every audience member eventually. You cannot be like ki yaar main multiplex...

Yes, but sometimes audience slots you. They decide what they like you in best.
I have been very lucky. I have a lot of decent goodwill in the mass thought process also. When I have interacted with people the younger boys, the men... they have enjoyed Gunday, Ishaqzaade, and Tevar. So I feel maybe I just need a correct film to kind of reconnect with them and take it to that level. Sometimes you just need the correct film. You might have the potency, you might have a connect, but to really see the volume of numbers you need a correct film also. But it’s going to be I think once a year you’ll see a Baaghi doing well, once or twice a year you’ll see that kind of a film doing well more than the Neerja’s and Kapoor and Sons and all.

Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; May 15, 2016)

Arjun Kapoor on weighty matters
Upala KBR (DNA; April 18, 2016)


Having been overweight once, are you paranoid about putting on that extra kilo today?
I have to be. I have fluctuated a lot in the last couple of years because of my own health issues. We have our own phases in life. Even actors are human beings so we have issues to deal with — physical, emotional and mental. I had one of those years where I had to recover. So yes, though I have that fear of putting on weight, I can’t stop living my life because of that fear. I work very hard in the gym. Sometimes, I come home very late around 1 am, but still I go and work out at the gym. I don’t ever stop. I try and work out at least six times a week with my trainer because that’s important for my body type which is so different from a typical Indian boy. I am so broad and big-structured that even two kilos on me can look like gaining 10 kilos and losing two kilos can also look like shedding 10 kilos. So I am in a strange predicament. I have always been considered to be broader and bigger so I have to be extra careful which I am okay with, as it’s part of the profession, but I don’t lose sleep over it. I have some faith in the fact that I have lost 50 kgs in four years, so I know my job about going about being healthy and I have done it in a very clean and good way, so I am very clear that I can do this. The body can try and stop you when you are very tired but you keep pushing and the results do come. I have seen that in that four-year phase. If you are patient your body reaps results, if not today then tomorrow or the next day. You just have to keep at it every day without stopping. You shouldn’t give up. Now I don’t get into that phase that if I eat one thing I will keep eating because I can’t lose the weight. If I have eaten a meal outside and have one bad night, the next day morning I will be on the treadmill to make sure that I burn those calories.

Tell me about doing pilates.
I started doing pilates because of injuries I sustained after Tevar and there was no solution unless I stopped physical activity. People would say, ‘You need to rest’, but that’s not an option for an actor. I found a better solution. Pilates is almost like undergoing rehab because you are improving your core — the smaller muscles that are not worked on in the gym on a regular basis. It strengthens you from within, from the deepest layer and that is very difficult. I do it once or twice a week as I can’t take out more time unfortunately. It’s very difficult, especially for a man. I wish I had gotten into it earlier, when I was 22-23, as my flexibility would have been better today.

I didn’t realise you had suffered so much in the last couple of years…
(Laughs) Nobody realises these things. I had a lot of cervical and neck issues. I used to suffer from vertigo because I had a cervical problem. Pilates has helped me open up, helped my posture, I also had a lot of issues with my shoulder… Pilates helps in all of this especially with your posture — the way you walk and stand, your movements… Now I am fine. The vertigo hasn’t come back for over a year. It started during the end of the shoot of 2 States. I shot Tevar with the cervical problem. Imagine shooting for an entire action film like that. Those are the things that one shouldn’t ignore. Now I have realised that I shouldn’t ignore the signs my body sends me. Now I put in that extra half an hour in a day to make sure that I am taking care of my body because I was in a very bad place. I have done four action films out of six, which were mostly physically gruelling. I am the only actor in my generation who has done so much of action and that took a toll on my body. When you are young you don’t realise what you are doing — falling, jumping, etc. You don’t want to say no to any action or use a body double or warm up, but just do it and I paid the price for that. All my directors used to caution me to be careful and warm up before the action scenes, stretch, use body doubles, but I would refuse because the excitement of becoming an actor was so much. So after Tevar I realised ki thoda sa time leke yeh sab masti karoonga, but I need to sort my body out before I get back into pushing myself.

You had the nickname Fubu as a kid. Was it because you were overweight?
(Laughs) I grew into the nickname and it just got stuck. For Us By Us (Fubu) is a brand in USA that makes jersey wear. It was a very cool brand back in the day. I used to wear only those jerseys and go hang with my friends. Actually, Ranbir (Kapoor) and two other friends of mine Tushar and Ishaan gave me this nick. Ranbir, Abhishek (Bachchan) and Karan (Johar) still call me Fubu. I was an AD on the sets of Kal Ho Naa Ho and I had a friend of mine, Ravi Chopra’s son Kapil, who was with me and used to call me Fubu on the sets. Then Karan started calling me that… I am okay with the nick as I find it quite sweet. They keep telling me that if I ever start my own production company, I should call it Fubu Films.

You did many stunts in the reality show you hosted (Khatron Ke Khiladi - Kabhi Peeda Kabhi Keeda) as well, right?
I was so excited that I went there and did what they wanted me to. I was like a child in a candy shop. When I shot for it, I was the most excited child in the world. They were taking me to Argentina for six weeks for a show where I got to do stunts, have animals around me, cars, bikes, helicopters — it was like a dream come true for me and I loved the experience. I am really happy that the channel is happy with the output as it’s a hit new target audience. It’s one of the coolest shows on Indian TV. Their safety levels are top notch. I was busy but I would keep fit by going for a long walk or go for a run in the middle of a stunt with my trainer because that was the only way. We would shoot 16-17 hours in a day. There were a lot of fit and inspiring boys also like Vivaan (D’Sena) and Siddharth (Shukla) on the show and whenever we would get an off, we would work out in the gym together. They were a good bunch of people and also fitness-conscious.

Tanvi Trivedi (BOMBAY TIMES; March 13, 2016)

MUMBAI MIRROR (March 4, 2016)

Arjun Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor may have stumbled upon a unique record of sorts. The duo is the first actor-cousin jodi to score a twin win with the latest Golden Kela nominations, the Indian version of the Razzies.

Arjun, in the running for Worst Actor for Tevar this year, has been earlier named a contender for Gunday and his fashionista cousin for her 'over the top' acting in Prem Ratan Dhan Payo. Sonam has earned nods for Worst Actress for Aisha in 2011, for which she famously turned up to collect the trophy, and for 'Everything she did' in 2014.

The eighth Annual Golden Kela Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place in Delhi after the worst pieces churned out from Bollywood in the year gone by have been painstakingly picked out. Other notable nominees in the latest edition include, Arjun Rampal (Roy), Sooraj Pancholi (Hero), Imran Khan (Katti Batti) in the Worst Actor category, Sonakshi Sinha (Tevar), Shraddha Kapoor (ABCD 2), the entire female cast of Calendar Girls, Amy Jackson (Singh is Bliing) for Worst Actress, and Dilwale, Bombay Velvet, Shaandaar, PRDP and Singh Is Bliing for Worst Film, among others

Of course, in some cases, the fights were short-lived
BOMBAY TIMES (January 6, 2016)

Prateek Sur (DNA; February 7, 2015)

Roop Kumar Rathod, who is set to release his next album Zikr Tera, along with wife Sunali is upset with the state of the Bollywood music industry these days. He has a problem with the lyrics of Arjun Kapoor’s last release Tevar’s Superman song. Roop says, “Now-a-days songs have just reduced to being abuses. I was listening to a song a few days ago and it had lyrics which said kar doon maa behn, superman, Salman ka fan... I was shocked and appalled at such lyrics in a song, which will be heard and hummed by millions. Small children will listen to such songs and keep singing it all day long. If they listen to such language, they will definitely use them in real life and that would be really bad.”

Sajid-Wajid, one of Bollywood’s most prolific composer-duos give us a glimpse into their music-making process and tell us what has driven their pursuit of excellence over the years
Bryan Durham (DNA; January 24, 2015)


Is it okay to tell you that I enjoyed Dolly Ki Doli’s music more than Tevar’s?
Sajid: It happens. Each soundtrack has to be different. Also, you also have to consider that a director’s vision is involved and consider how that works in a collaboration.
Wajid: And people like what they want. Despite releasing this close to each other, it helps that none of the songs sound the same. And that both albums have worked. That says a lot.

When voice casting, how do you reach a balance between using established and new singers?
Wajid: I believe the song chooses the singer. Nobody could’ve sung Phatte Tak Nachna like Sunidhi or Fashion Khatam like Mamta or Superman like I did (laughs).

You’ve had a great run over the last few years...
Sajid: Yes, 2014 went quite well — we had Jai Ho, Main Tera Hero, Heropanti, Daawat-E-Ishq and this year, Tevar and Dolly Ki Doli!

More often than not, Mika and Mamta Sharma feature in almost every other album of yours
Wajid: Really? I don’t know. (shrugs). When you speak of item numbers you need to have a voice. And Mamta is fantastic for character singing. Her voice texture is brilliant. She goes perfect inside that pocket, if you know what I mean. She just sits there... the way she learns the song and she's very raw, those little nuances she adds to a song, a trained singer cannot. And Mika has that alag andaz to his singing.

How do you choose your lyricists?
Wajid: Whoever gives me the best line (laughs). Of late, we’ve been working with Kausar Munir a lot, but here’s the thing. We work as a team. Danish Sabri, who’s my cousin as well as my assistant, has written some of the lyrics on the latest albums and I credit him for his contributions. But I give Kausar credit. She’s a senior writer who also appreciates something somebody else has written and is willing to share credits where it demands. Most lyricists are not open to doing that.

You’ve also worked with Kumaar...
Wajid: Yes, he’s written Mere Naina Kaafir Ho Gaye (from the DKD soundtrack) and is very happy. He writes hit songs for most films but never something like this for anyone. This one was exceptionally good.

Each soundtrack now sounds like a bazaar.. a cacophony of sounds with multiple composers on an album
Wajid: I’m not happy with this thing going on. it’s not fair to anybody (shrugs).
Sajid: At the same time, it’s fair also. you can’t even say if its fair to them or not fair to them, because jo struggle kar raha hai, usse ek gaana mil jaaye toh woh bahut badi baat hai. It all depends on whether you want to be a one-song wonder or a versatile music director.

Do you think it’s a passing phase?
Wajid: We really don’t know. We can only speak for ourselves when we say we’ve really worked hard to get to where we are. We work extra hard to ensure that all our songs are hits.

There are times directors/producers go in for an extra composer at the last minute...
Wajid: How much difference does it make to a film? Most often, these are promotional tracks and has a short shelf life. It happens with a lot of films.

What keeps you motivated enough album after album?
Sajid: Our love for music and our upbringing.
Wajid: We lost our father, Ustad Sharafat Ali Khan last year. He was a passionate musician who taught us that you don’t have to compete with anyone else but yourself. We work extra hard to make sure we live up to his name.

In the days of OP Nayyar and R D Burman, composers were kings, then singers became the superstars. I believe the age of composers (rather composer-singers) is upon us. Your take?
Sajid: Composers have come back in a big way.
Wajid: For me, it always was the composer who was the rockstar. Being a composer-singer is always a bonus. If you can sing your compositions, very good. I’ve seen new composers struggle to get a foothold but new singers manage with gigs. No such luck for struggling composers .Woh daldal hi hai. Either he has to sink in or get out of it. He has no other choice. It is very important to understand that. Everyone is equal. Bas koshish mein kami nahi honi chahiye.

How do you divide the work among yourselves?
Wajid: Sajid bhai always tells me if a song isn’t working. He’s got a fantastic ear. And he comes up with fabulous one-liners. He likes to compose that much and jokes, ‘Aage ka kaam tera hai’.
Sajid: But seriously, to make it simple we give the other his space.
Wajid: I do more compositions while he looks after the arrangement and how it sounds. But he’s the elder brother, so he takes the cake. He takes advantage of that.

Wajid, do you seek out his opinion?
He respects it when I do. I should be clear to counter him if needed. We do have disagreements at work because at the end we want what’s best for the film. We welcome our technicians as well to to voice their opinions openly. We foster that kind of culture at the workplace. We’re more like best friends than music directors.

I remember reading somewhere that Salman Khan said at a children’s event that he wished that you two were here because they’d keep the kids more entertained. What does he know that we don’t?
Wajid: One thing we’ve learnt from him is to exude that energy impromptu. We used to be shy, but he’s made us so free that now if he asks us to do something, we readily agree. We’re like kids who forgot to live and are getting a chance to relive our childhood by being kids around kids.

It’s a lesser known fact that you were the composers of Sonu Nigam’s Deewana album...
Wajid: What most people don’t know is that the album was prepared even before Sonu Nigam could come on board. He joined the project after all the compositions were created. His involvement began with later albums. Back then, to have an album on that level where the composer could call the shots musically — we were first-time composers then — was a big deal. At the time, only Daler Mehndi worked and everybody advised us to compose Punjabi numbers. I told them ‘I’ll do what my heart feels.’
Sajid: I said the same thing. We made that album, it broke records and made history. Since then, our formula has remained the same, eight songs toh eight songs hit, five songs toh five songs hit. The D-factor has worked for Sajid-Wajid, right from Deewana to Dolly Ki Doli!

What makes either of you incomplete without the other?
This rishta is made by Allah, it is not of this world. It will last us beyond forever. What stronger bond than that? We’re bound by blood, what can come between us? Those that don’t share that strong a bond can be separated by the smallest of things. In my opinion, it is all about upbringing. There exist differences between siblings, but they shouldn’t be that great that it separates you. That’s common between us as brothers. There are three of us — Sajid, Wajid and Javed. We’re a really close-knit family.

Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 15, 2015)

Arjun Kapoor and Tevar director Amit Sharma had planned their second collaboration even before their first film together hit the theatres. But the film's poor showing at the box office seems to have scuppered their plans. Sources close to the development told Mirror that the duo had decided to collaborate on a dacoit drama called Daaku Sultan, but the film's now looks set for the cold storage.

A source said, "Arjun was hoping that Tevar would break the record of his previous films. But clearly that hasn't happened. There were several differences between producer Boney Kapoor and Amit Sharma during the making of the film itself. Now that the fate of the film is for all to see, they have decided not to go ahead with the second project."

When we contacted Amit for a comment, he hurriedly cut the phone, but later producer Boney Kapoor called us. He admitted that there was a 'miscalculation' as far as Tevar was concerned, but he is optimistic about another collaboration with Amit.

"He's a man who knows his job," Boney said. However, our source told us that the producer wanted Tevar's climax changed which Amit did not agree to.

Boney added, "Not all films do well. And my association and relationships with people doesn't depend on the box-office collection of a film." Does this mean that the trio will work together again in the near future? "Yes, I will make a film with Amit again featuring Arjun Kapoor. We are yet to develop the script so I can't reveal any details."

It was evident some 2 years ago itself that the trend of remaking masala South Indian films is slowly waning off, mainly because of lack of novelty factor. Yet, it’s shocking that the makers of Tevar went ahead with their venture. And obviously, the film fails to leave a mark mainly because it is extremely clichéd and consists of stuff that viewers has seen in countless number of films.

The story of the movie: Pintoo (Arjun Kapoor) is an Agra ka launda who visits Mathura to attend a wedding. Gajender Singh (Manoj Bajpayee) is the bahubali in Mathura and the brother of home minister Mahendra Singh (Rajesh Sharma), who falls for local resident Radhika (Sonakshi Sinha). Gajender tries to forcibly kidnap her and make her his wife. However, Pintoo, who can’t bear injustice inflicted on women, enters the scene, attacks Gajendra ,not knowing that he’s quite powerful, and escapes with Radhika. The aim is to reach Delhi. And obviously, it isn’t going to be an easy task, considering that Gajender’s brother controls the police force in the state.



Tevar begins on an average note with some inexplicable developments. Why is Pintoo late for the kabaddi match? Why is he jumping from one rooftop to another? Why does Pintoo’s father, SP Satyaprakash Shukla (Raj Babbar) always reprimand him for getting into trouble? Why doesn’t he realize that Pintoo is always fighting for a good cause and is doing something that his police force should be doing in the first place?! Things get slightly better after a point, but not great. It’s only when Pintoo attacks Gajendra and runs away with Radhika that the film goes on a high. In fact, this entire escape sequence before the intermission serves as the best part of the film. Even post-interval, few scenes are quite entertaining. Yet, the film overall isn’t satisfying as it doesn’t serve anything new. Viewers have seen similar stuff in films like Mast, Commando – A One Man Army, R…Rajkumar, Chennai Express, Jab We Met, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai etc. Moreover, the film goes on and on and is almost 160 minutes long. There was no need for Shruti Haasan’s item number and the 5-10 minute long scene where Pintoo and his pals are staring at a hot girl on the rooftop.

Performances are sincere and save the film from becoming an ultimate disaster. Arjun Kapoor plays the role quite convincingly. It seems quite believable when he single handedly fights with dozens of goons. Performance wise, he is too good and has that raw, rustic appeal that goes well with his character. Sonakshi Sinha looks charming and gives a wonderful performance. She is often criticized for taking roles that aren’t quite substantial. In that regard, her critics would definitely get silenced as she is one of the principle actors and does quite well. Manoj Bajpayee is terrific to say the least. After Raajneeti, this would count as one of his most memorable performances for sure! Subrat Dutta (Kakdi) impresses with his subtle performance. An actor to watch out for! Raj Babbar tries to infuse realism in his character and it works well. Rajesh Sharma is as usual. Deepti Naval (Pintoo’s mother) is okay but Gunjan Malhotra (Pinky) is quite funny. Bhuvan Arora, Pranav Verma and Tushar Pandey are quite nice as Pintoo’s friends. Shantanu Srivastava (fat police officer) is decent.



Sajid-Wajid’s music is good but won’t have a lasting effect. Superman is the best, undoubtedly. Joganiya also makes a mark especially thanks to the way it’s filmed. Clinton Cerejo’s background score is exhilarating. Laxman Utekar’s cinematography is brilliant. It must have been a challenge for the lensman to film in real, crowded locations but he pulls it off. Sham Kaushal’s action is fine but ordinary. Shantanu Srivastava’s dialogues could have been better but nevertheless, works. Screenplay (Shantanu Srivastava, Amit Sharma) takes the film down as it comes at a point when viewers have seen countless such films. Amit Sharma’s direction is quite nice but with such a beaten-to-death script in hand, there’s little he could have done to make it better. In fact, whenever the makers tried to do something original, it worked. For instance, scenes like Pintoo talking to his hand, Pintoo winning the kabaddi match in the beginning, Gajender proposing to Radhika, Pintoo-Radhika escaping from rooftop at Mathura and at the highway, SP Shukla meeting Radhika and Gajender refusing to wear his pants worked as these were all novel ideas. But the rest of the film is plain ordinary. If the makers had come up with such new, entertaining stuff and if they had kept the film’s duration in check, Tevar might not have been such a disappointing fare!

On the whole, Tevar has its moments but overall, it fails to work as it’s too lengthy and borrows from countless number of films of recent times. It’s quite bewildering why the makers even went ahead with this film considering that it’s evident since the past 2 years that there has been an overdose of South masala film remakes. Tevar would have worked 4-5 years back. But in 2015, chances of its success are remote!

My rating - ** out of 5!

Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 9, 2015)

Sonakshi Sinha's brother Kussh is marrying Tarunna, daughter of Subodh and Abhinanda Aggarwal, in what is perhaps one of the most hush-hush weddings in Bollywood. When prodded for details the usually affable groom-to-be turned mum, saying, "My wedding is a private affair. Sonakshi is an actress and she has 3 million followers on Twitter while I have only 1000. That should tell you the kind of person I am."

His star sister is equally careful not to reveal any details. Every query on the subject-from what she will be wearing, if she plans to dance to any of her of her popular hits, her equation with her soon-to-be-bhabhi to even the date and venue of the wedding is adroitly side-stepped. All that is known is that the Sinhas-Shatrughan Sinha, wife Poonam and Sonakshi-met the Prime Minister earlier this week.

"It was a personal visit and we as a family went to invite him for my brother Kussh's wedding. Whenever I have met him, the Prime Minister has been warm and cheerful. It was a wonderful meeting and he wished me well for the release of Tevar," Sonakshi told Mirror.

The actress was to visit Patna to promote the upcoming film. She had been there earlier during Son Of Sardaar but this would have been her first visit to her home state after the BJP and her father's landslide victory in last year's Lok Sabha elections. "But I wasn't able to go this time as we had to go meet Mr Modi on the same day. But Arjun (her co-star Arjun Kapoor) went there to connect with the people as Tevar has great potential in states like UP and Bihar because of its earthy appeal," she points out.

Sonakshi insists it is easy to relate to Radhika, her character, who is very "real". "I'm sure when people watch the film they will feel that they have met someone like her at some point in their life. I would really love for Modiji to see Tevar. I will ask him and other colleagues of my father in Delhi if they would like me to have a screening of the film for them," she says.

Buzz is, she's gearing up to play poet author Amrita Pritam in a biopic. Bring up the subject and the actress clams up again. "I haven't signed the film yet and only believe in speaking about films once signed," she says carefully. "It's a great subject and a great role for me. The producers will be the right people to make the announcement, as and when things are confirmed."

TEVAR – FIRST HIT OF 2015?

The first big film of 2015, Tevar, is all set to release tomorrow and chances are that it might become the first hit of the year as well. The film has grandeur, masala, entertainment and at the same time, it promises to be not just another herogiri-type of film.

Tevar stars Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha and is produced by Arjun’s chacha Sanjay Kapoor and father Boney Kapoor. It is directed by Amit Sharma, famous ad filmmaker who helmed the much-loved Google Reunion ad. This is a remake of Telegu film Okkadu. The film has been shot in real locations in Agra, Mathura, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi etc and that adds to the realism. Also, Amit has claimed that Tevar isn’t nonsensical – all the developments in the narrative are done keeping logic and sense in mind. Even the rainfall shown in Joganiya song, that takes place 2 weeks before Holi (somewhere in February-end probably) in the film is not a mistake as it does rain in parts of North India during that time of the year! Of course, song-n-dance routine and fights are there in the film but from the promos it is evident that it’s not over the top, especially how it happens in certain films where the hero single-handedly bashes up 20 goons. Moreover, there’s Manoj Bajpayee who plays the antagonist and from the trailer, he looks terrific. His act has the déjà vu of his terrific performance in Raajneeti too! Songs are interesting and Superman has caught on really well.

Tevar is the first big film releasing after PK, that arrived 3 weeks back. Hence, Tevar is getting a huge release and audiences who haven’t seen any new film in recent time too might come in huge numbers to see the film. Also, the excitement for the film is considerable and hence, a good-to-very good opening is expected. Eventually, it’s the content that’ll decide if the film will have a long run. If word of mouth is positive, Tevar can turn out to be a huge grosser.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE TEVAR AND WHY? DO LET ME KNOW!

Priya Gupta (BOMBAY TIMES; January 8, 2015)