Arjun Kapoor says 'I had stopped loving myself but that changed during Covid era' | Exclusive
India Today
In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Arjun Kapoor said that he had stopped loving himself. However, the actor recalled how that changed during the Covid-19 era.
Arjun Kapoor completes a decade of being an actor this month. Arjun made his debut with Parineeti Chopra in the 2012 film, Ishaqzaade which won him rave reviews. The film, which released on May 11, 2012, was a commercial success. However, Arjun has had a bumpy ride post his debut. Recently, the actor sat down for an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in where he relived his career’s highs and lows.
Talking about the darkest phase in his life, Arjun Kapoor said, “I was working too hard. I didn’t take care of myself. I was working hard to lose weight, to look good but it was not translating. Half Girlfriend opened well but Mubarakan didn't, although the latter went on to make good money in its lifetime gross. But the message from the audience was clear - they wanted to come see me in theatres and buy tickets, but they also wanted their money's worth. The message was that we want to support you but we also want you to take that effort to look the way you did during your debut. I think the darkness came because I knew what the issue was but I didn’t deal with it well. I just jumped into my work and said I will solve the issues in my next film and so on and so forth."
Arjun added, "My films also didn’t do well in that period. The director is the captain of the ship but as an actor, I have to present myself as that character to the audience. I take full responsibility for those choices I made. And during that time, my family was there, Adi sir was there and my fans who stood by me. In fact, the harshest words that came my way were to inspire me to do better. I lost 50 kgs to become an actor and later on, when I struggled to shed the weight for my roles, I feel I became complacent and refused to face the inevitable.”
When asked what was the changing point in his thought process, Arjun said, “I think it was the period when Covid-19 happened. I started loving myself more. I hadn’t done that because I was working back to back. Right now, I am physically and mentally in a place very close to the period when I made my debut and I hope I strive to only do better and give my fans their money's worth.”
Arjun Kapoor's forthcoming releases include Villain 2 with Mohit Suri, Kuttey with Aasmaan Bhardwaj and The Ladykiller with Ajay Bahl.
