Worried, But Not Defeated , Says Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal who turned 44 on November 26, is worried about his next release. “Kahaani 2 is also bound to face the brunt of demonetization. It is another film I am truly proud of .”
Arjun and director Sujoy Ghosh were planning to work for the longest time. “The two of us are supposed to do a film together. But it was an expensive project.And no producer was willing to put that kind of money on us.So we waited for the right time to work together.”
When Sujoy approached Arjun with a role in Kahaani 2, Arjun told him to send the script over. “I didn’t want Sujoy to come over and narrate the script personally because I knew if he did I wouldn’t be able to say no to him. But he insisted on coming home.He was at my door in five minutes.After he narrated the script I hugged him and said I am doing the film.It was one of the best scripts I had heard.”
Arjun isn’t the least daunted by the presence of Vidya Balan in the film. “I didn’t think of Kahaani 2 as HER film or anyone’s film. If I did I wouldn’t have done it. I loved my role, and the way it takes the story forward.Sujoy is a wacky director. I could never tell what he had in mind.”
Interestingly Arjun was shooting for a completely antithetical film when he agreed to do Kahaani 2. “I was in the midst of my own production Daddy where I play Arun Gawliwhen I was offered Kahaani 2. In that I play a gangster and here I play a cop. Normally I wouldn’t have accepted such antithetical roles. In fact I don’t do two films at the same time. But I really wanted to do Kahaani 2. So I took 30 days off from the shooting of Daddy. Believe me, it was really worth it.Within a year I got to do three characters as challenging as diverse as Rock On 2, Kahaani 2 and Daddy.”
In Daddy Arjun plays a real-life character for the first time. “I’ve never done a biographical character before. It’s challenging and it’s fun. I don’t think I’ve ever taken the easy route in my career. It’s been 15 years now.And I’ve constantly chosen complex roles. Yes, many times I’ve stumbled and fallen while attempting something out of the box. I’ve done characters and films which nobody understood except me. But I’ve loved every character I’ve played. All the people I’ve played and the directors I’ve worked with have helped me to grow.”
