in his plush new Bandra duplex, National Award winner Arjun Rampal talks about how he figured out the right formula as an actor by being patient and learning from his mistakes
Were you expecting the National Award for Rock On!!?
An actor always hopes to get a National award but it wasn’t on the top of my mind that day. It was unexpected and before I could realise it, my phone started ringing incessantly and all my friends were at my place. I would like to celebrate again with the Rock On!! team after I receive the award on March 18. I have a club in Delhi and we can all party there (laughs). It will be wonderful. Whatever I have believed in has fallen into place.
It’s said that this is your second innings.
An actor doesn’t have a shelf life. Good talent in any profession cannot be kept down for long. Your talent is in the choices that you make. I think that I have made the right choices in working with like-minded people who work as hard as I do to get it right. I now take up films based on two questions: Will I watch this movie? Are these people going to deliver the finished product as impressively as they’ve put it on paper? Luckily I have found a group because of who the answer to both these questions is a yes.
You did make wrong choices in the past, didn’t you?
Yes. I came from a non-filmi background. Moreover, I came in at a time when the film industry was undergoing a transition. There was a lot of confusion but I learnt from failures. I won’t blame anybody but myself. The weakest thing one can do is play the blame game. Success and failure are like husband and wife, two opposites who live together in the same house. I have seen people failing for a long time before they get cracking; it’s not just my story. It’s one’s own responsibility to pick oneself up.
Are you and your wife Mehr opposites?
Mehr is practical and I am impulsive.
Was there a time in your low period when you got terribly frustrated?
Of course. There was a time when I asked myself, “Why is it not coming together as I want it to?” A great support system from my family and friends kept me going. They said, “Nothing happens here overnight.” Finally around the time of Don, I started working with people I wanted to.
Did knowing Shah Rukh Khan help?
One learns a lot from Shah Rukh. He never holds back. He has advised me on matters where I needed it. But, he doesn’t cast you because he is your friend but because you can deliver. At the end of the day, one can’t be dependent on anybody. I came independently. I live independently. That’s how I would like to remain and move forward.
Does the industry look at you differently today?
Yes, people have changed. Some of these are those who didn’t count me earlier but I hold no grudge. I don’t want to be weak by blaming anybody. I don’t want to make the same mistakes, and God willing, I won’t. I have learnt with time. When people say ‘Ho jayega’, that’s when I want to run away from them.
How satisfied are you with your career at this point?
Quite, but I still want to go ahead. I have some good films coming up- Housefull where Sajid Khan has made me dance, something I have seldom done. In Raajneeti, I play someone who wants to become the biggest politician.There is also Karan Johar’s remake of Stepmom.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment