Actor Arjun Kapoor and his ‘half girfriend’ Shraddha Kapoor had a swell time promoting their film and discussing their craft with passion. By Unnati Joshi
With only a few weeks left for the release of their film, actors Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor are wholeheartedly promoting their film, Half Girlfriend, and seem relaxed about its fortunes. They are enjoying their snacks when we button-hole them at a Nehru Place theatre. As expected, both are at their stylish best. Though Shraddha couldn’t carry her Paul Andrew heels for long it seems, she looks at home wearing Kolhapuri chappals with her Sandro Paris dress. Then they shed the stiffness and get into an easy flow.
We ask them about their characters and both laugh, pull each other and ask us who should go first. “Anybody,” we say. “ladies first,” Arjun winks.
“I am playing Ria Somani. She is the most popular girl in the college, who comes from a very affluent family. The boys want her and the girls envy her. While on the outside everything looks perfect in her life, actually there’s a lot that’s going on within her. There’s some turmoil deep inside. When Madhav (Arjun’s character) comes into her life, she is bowled over by his simplicity and sincerity, something she was craving for. What I could relate to Ria is that she gets happiness from the simple things in life. She likes the first rain, very basic and simple things and I think it’s same with me, little things make me happy.”
Addressing Arjun as Madhav, she says, “Madhav! Now would you tell them about yourselfIJ” Holding his phone in one hand and a cookie in another, he replies, “Sure.” And gets into precise publicist mode. “My character is called Madhav Jha, who is from a village in Bihar. It was very fascinating for me to play a character that is so selfless even though I have played heartland characters and I have done romantic films before. Just when I started reading about the character, I realised that I have never played him ever, not even in parts. He is a boy who is average in studies but knows if he plays basketball at the national level, will get admission in a good college. And then he will be able to learn enough to come back to his own place and work for his village. In today’s age who thinks about othersIJ People only think about themselves,” he tells us.
“He is equally selfless in love. He never tells girls that I love you, you have to love me back and feel exactly how I feel. He understands that the girl loves him half and can’t commit but he loves her anyway. And not once he puts pressure on her just because he feels in a certain way about her. So yes, it might be in the realm of the stuff that you have seen but trust me, when you dive into the film, you will realise that Madhav Jha has never been seen on screen and there’s no character that you can compare him to. It’s very difficult for me to relate to Madhav because I was not brought up in that situation. Subconsciously Mohit (director, Mohit Suri) felt that I have all the trappings to be Madhav Jha. He told me later how it stems from the fact that my upbringing has been in a certain way and I have been through certain situations similar to Madhav’s. I never drew the parallels till he told me. That’s how disembodied I become when I study my roles and immerse in them,” he explains.
Arjun worked as an assistant director on films like Kal Ho Naa Ho and Salaam-e-Ishq and has also co-produced few films. About his journey, he recalls, “It has been Un-effing-believable, if I can put it any way, I think this would be the way. I have got everything and more that I dreamt of. I wasn’t ambitious actually. I just wanted to do something to make my family proud. I just wanted to be good enough. I didn’t dream for stars, I didn’t want to be the best or number one. I never wanted to prove to the world, I just wanted to do something in the field that I love and I was passionate about. From being an 18-year-old and starting out to being a 32, it feels like a long time. I have got so much love from people who I don’t even know from across the world. I get an opportunity to live my dreams out. People would cut their right arm to be in my position. So I just try to be honest and diligent about it. I have never taken it for granted. But to express the journey in words is impossible as it’s overwhelming. I am not somebody who gets emotional about things all the time but it is something that I feel deeply about. Yesterday it was the fifth year since I became an actor. To survive five years and get this kind of love and adulation is not easy.”
“Yesterday we were in Ghaziabad in a mall, there were thousands of people waiting for us in that heat, screaming when we took the stage. How many people will get thatIJ It just puts you in a position where you have a responsibility to keep entertaining them and making them happy. But I still have a long way to go before I can breathe,” he smiles.
Ask Shraddha the same, she says her journey has been magical as it was her childhood dream to be an actor. “Mohit (director, Mohit suri) said it in an interview that I think her best is yet to come and that keeps pushing me to do better. I feel very fortunate and blessed and would agree with Arjun as those are my exact sentiments. Being an actor was my childhood dream and I cherish every minute of it. I am grateful for that.”
How is she dealing with the never-ending scrutiny that the actors faceIJ “I understand people are generally curious to know about the lives of somebody they like or are interested in, a public figure. But my focus is on what I am here to do which is being a part of the films.”
All this while Arjun was listening his half girlfriend answer. “We have a question for you Arjun,” we tell him. “Oh,” he says.
He has seen a lot of backroom, courtesy the studio run by his mom, does he see himself making a film at allIJ “That’s my biggest plan,” he jumps on the sofa.
“I always wanted to be a filmmaker, director and that’s how I became a part of this profession. So the plan is there but there’s nothing concrete. It’s my aim to have that, also, as part of something that I can fall back upon to be creative as an artist. But I am focussed on acting right now, movies I can make later. The kind of opportunity I have right now, I don’t want to let it go,” he says.
Quiz him about Indian cinema and the would-be filmmaker feels that Indian films are emotionally stronger and we shouldn’t lose that.“It’s actually very difficult to quantify where we see the Indian cinema. For every Kapoor & Sons doing well there’s also a Baahubali that comes and does as well in terms of love and appreciation. Kapoor & Sons is a step in a right direction in terms of focussing on a topic that was unspoken before. At the same time you have big scale entertainers that connect emotionally. You have a variable audience now and as an actor, there is a bouquet to challenge your skill set. Some projects put us on the global map, some posit content, some emotions and some play on the the scale. But no matter what, at the end of the day, I feel, our films are emotionally very strong. So I would like to believe that we don’t lose our emotions.”
Adding further, he says, “We are emotional as a tribe. Indians showcase their emotions more than anybody in the world. We have tears in happiness and in sadness as well. The celebration, the dance, the energy, this is what quintessentially defines cinema in our country.”
About the ‘Half-Girlfriend’ concept, Shraddha says, “I think these relationships were always there, it’s just that we are doing a movie on this terminology now."
Arjun will be seen portraying a comic role in his next, Mubarakan. We ask him about his future plans. Witty that he is, he makes everyone in the room laugh, saying, “My future plan is to eat lunch.”
“But jokes apart, Mubarakan will release two months after. It was exciting working with Anil chachu and Anees bhai (Anees Bazmee). I am very happy with the way it has turned out and excited as well to showcase it to the world. It’s a double role for me again. I hope to bring smiles on people’s faces with the film.”
For Shraddha it’s Haseena: The Queen of Mumbai. We have always seen her in a girl-next-door avatar. But she has now completely changed herself to get into the skin of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister Haseena Parkar.
“I have Haseena which will be releasing shortly. I’m really excited as I have worked with my brother for the first time. It is the first time I think a real brother and sister are playing brother and sister on screen too. This is my first film where I am playing a grey shaded character, I hope people like it.”
Photo: Pankaj Kumar