Going bullish

With his choice of films, Arjun Kapoor has proved that there is a cool head behind that implosive image

Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor during shooting of a film at Taj Mahal in Agra. File photo

Before 2014, Arjun Kapoor appeared to me very much like the guy who really believes in ab mein sab daal do (put your everything in the moment). The line is from a beverage brand that he endorses but it also largely reflects the attitude of Arjun and his generation of actors, which includes Ranveer Singh. This approach resulted in Gunday , where the two were so busy in doing the ab mein sab routine that they missed the bigger picture. They seem oblivious to the idea that at times boys have to relax, take the foot off the accelerator and munch on the lines so that the audience gets the right taste.

However, while Ranveer kept pressing the accelerator last year, Arjun showed that he knew what critics were hinting at. So after Gunday , we found him in an IIM campus in 2 States , where he was not only occupied convincing his Punjabi mother to marry a Tamilian girl but was also trying to mend a fractured relationship with his father. Then came Finding Fanny which was even farther from commercial territory. As Savio he had to bite back his male ego, and he swallowed it convincingly.

But this week he is back to his strength as Pintu Shukla in debutant Amit Sharma’s

Tevar. Set in the Brij region of Western Uttar Pradesh, it is about a lad who falls in love with a girl while trying to save her from a local don. “I have been able to create a niche for myself in the intense action films. And it is gratifying when people come and say that it is something I must do, but I enjoy doing other things as well, as I have proved last year,” says Arjun. “Now people can’t say that he does only one kind of film. Also I have a foundation that people will accept me in a certain kind of film for sure.”

Arjun admits that in

Gunday the attitude was not channelled well enough. “The sur that we adopted somehow missed out on the emotions. Tevar is way more rustic. It is somewhere between Ishaqzaade and Gunday . It has the realism of Ishaqzaade and the flamboyance of Gunday . Pintu Shukla represents the attitude of boys in small towns. They don’t care who runs the show in the country. They are happy in their own small world. They have a carefree attitude — and (the film is about) what happens when he is expected to take charge of the situation.”

Tevar is an adaptation of the Telugu hit Okkadu . Arjun agrees the regional flavour played an important role in the success of the original. “That’s why Amit’s knowledge of the Agra-Mathura belt helped. He has spent his childhood in the region and understands the nuances of relationships and language. It adds to the texture and imparts a visual value to the film as well.” Referring to the promo, he avers that the Taj Mahal has not been shot like this in a mainstream Hindi film.

Kabbadi is an important sport in the region and Pintu is a champion of the game. “We have incorporated the moves of Kabbadi in action sequences. He is a like a bull who will come out of the ring only after finishing the game.”

The film is produced by his father Boney Kapoor and he understands his responsibility towards the banner. “ Tevar has come at the right time when I could support him to make his kind of entertainer. Had it been my first film, the audience would not have been as excited.”

The original came in 2003 and since then there has been a demand for change in the portrayal of female characters in our mainstream films. Here again the girl is caught between the hero and the villain, who seem to be making choices for her.

“Whoever raises a finger at the sensibility of mass entertainers, I tell him or her to watch Queen and 2 States . Also, cinema is a mirror to society. There is a lot of physical brutality that happens in India against women, so if a film is reflecting it to correct it I don’t think we are going regressive.”

But what becomes problematic is when a large portion of the film glorifies the violent stalking, and the girl who endures it is shown as meek and innocent. “I feel these days where a certain kind of dumbness is shown those films don’t last at the box office and even if they do they don’t become timeless hits. In Ishaqzaade , you can question the choices that the girl makes but the girl has a mind of her own and she is not weak. Similarly Sonakshi’s character in Tevar is not dumb. She is just stuck in certain circumstances. I feel the female characters need not be necessarily heroic but they should come out as substantial voices in the film. And this has been the case with most of my films.”

Another common feature in his short career is the way he is pitted against seasoned players. If it was Naseer and Pankaj Kapur in Finding Fanny , In Tevar he has to take on Manoj Bajpayee, who can possibly eat him up for breakfast like Irrfan did in an extended cameo in Gunday . Arjun doesn’t seem to mind and understands the difference in the level of performance. “If we could not match the sur with Irrfan in Gunday here it seems we have got the right blend. It also depends on the director how he brings the two schools of acting on a level platform. Having said, that I have not been to any school,” he winks. “I am hungry to work with good actors. It really excites me to just watch Manoj move on the sets. The way he switches on and off. He doesn’t look as if he will come out as such a towering personality on screen. Like Irrfan, the performance lies in his eyes. He is an asset to the film and brings credibility. I am not sure whether you will like my work, but I am sure you will appreciate Manoj’s work.”

Now, Arjun is judging the reporter.