Arjun Kapoor celebrates his birthday today, and to mark the occasion, he engaged in a heartfelt online fan-meet session. During the conversation, the actor opened up about the challenges of being in the industry and shared his thoughts on how the current landscape often discourages experimentation.
Speaking about the most challenging part of being an actor, Arjun said, "I think the most challenging aspect now is the ability to make choices to take risks and not be scared of failure or worry about 'log kya kahenge'. It’s about still feeling those butterflies in your stomach. The challenge is to not play it safe. The current environment has made most of us a bit comfortable because there's a constant fear of reviews, reports, and whether a film will work. When I did Finding Fanny, I didn’t overthink it. I liked the concept and the director's vision, so we made it happen."
Reflecting on the evolving landscape of cinema, Arjun added, "In today's time, people would think ten times before doing a film like Ki & Ka. They'll wonder whether the audience will accept it, how the woke culture will react, and so on. In that process, you might lose the simplicity, sincerity, and genuineness of what you're trying to do. You start manufacturing things. As an actor, authenticity has become the toughest part because everything today is about decoration and positioning. Acting-wise, I believe it's very difficult to truly understand our country."
Arjun also drew from his filmography, sharing, "When I did Ishaqzaade, Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, and Aurangzeb, I was trying to understand those particular worlds and the thought processes of those characters. Building a character, a story, or a mindset and staying honest to it throughout the film is tough. It requires effort and time. All of it is difficult, but also exciting. The authenticity of portraying a character is an interesting challenge. For Half Girlfriend, I learned the dialect and dubbed my own dialogues, but I felt the intensity of the dialect was slightly lacking." "In Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, the intensity of the dialect and dialogue delivery were well balanced. That’s why my character in the film feels very direct. These are technical aspects, but they're also crucial to being an actor," he concluded.
From Ishaqzaade to Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, Aurangzeb and beyond, Arjun Kapoor has explored a wide range of characters and narratives. With every project, he continues to stay unpredictable and unafraid to experiment a quality that sets him apart from his contemporaries.