NO PRESSURE
“I thrive under pressure,” the actor says with a grin as he begins to talk about his journey into Bollywood and his view of himself as the perennial underdog.
“I have, quite literally, always been the underdog in my life — always being told that I can’t do things. When I wanted to become an actor, I was told that I shouldn’t even try because I won’t be able to do it. More recently, when I was going to host a show on television for the first time in my career, many people said to me that I won’t be able to pull it off. If that counts as pressure then yes, I’ve had the chance to experience some. But the best part is that I somehow always enjoy that pressure. Wahi toh maza hai zindagi ka — that you can outdo people’s expectations because you believe in yourself. There’s no other feeling like it, believe me,” he affirms.
Ask him if there have ever been moments where this pressure has crossed a line and threatened to overwhelm him and he is quick to retort, “If I thought that was even a possibility, I wouldn’t have taken up this career. See the thing is, I’m very lucky that my parents allowed me to pursue my passion in the first place — very few people get the chance to do that at all. I was able to follow my heart, so as far as I’m concerned, there’s no question of feeling too pressured.”
HOME TURF Looking beyond professional turf, how involved is he in the workings of his home “My home is a very well-oiled machine. My mother set it up beautifully before she left us. And my domestic help, the few people who work for us, have been there for many years. They are extremely close to me and take care of our home more than even I do! As for overseeing everything, my sister Anshula, my nani and my masi do it perfectly. I am so caught up with work myself that I haven’t been able to help out. But the thing is, I don’t think I’m capable of helping out properly either,” he shares and explains, “Here’s the truth. I’m not the most clean person. I’m always all over the place. And I’m always either in a hurry or in a zone where I can be extremely lazy. I would like to believe that I’ll improve in this regard once I get married, though. I’m taking my sister for granted for now but when I get married I’ll definitely have to up my game. If I don’t, my wife will throw me out for sure.” The conjecture that naturally follows is, of course, whether there are marriage plans in sight when is he planning to tie the knot “Whenever I feel like it! There are no plans at the moment. Abhi toh chhokra jawaan re.”
THE GOOD HUSBAND “I’ll be a good, supportive husband,” Arjun says, responding to a request to take a little leap in time and share his vision of himself as good or bad husband material. He quickly adds as a disclaimer, however, that he doesn’t know how capable he is of ever being a homemaker. “I have never cooked in my life. At least not in the way I’d like to cook. I tried once and it was so horrid that I never tried again. And doing dishes is definitely not a part of my skill set either,” he chuckles and opines, “People who make good homemakers are the ones who are capable of it. And this is irrespective of gender. Even men who live alone are able to take care of themselves and their home — the skill set exists, it’s just that society has conditioned men not to use it. I feel that there is a certain sense of tolerance that we need to have towards people who make independent choices. People should be respected for what they are and what they choose to be. Personally, I would love to help out at home in as many ways as I can.”
CHARACTER BUILDING The actor’s sentiments in matters of the home seem to echo those of his character, Kabir, in the upcoming R. Balki-directed movie. Has his experience of playing this role, or any other role, for that matter, fed into his own personality over time “Just because you appreciate certain qualities of a character, it doesn’t imply that you must then aspire to become like him in totality. I did a Gunday and loved the character I played in it — but I didn’t actually become a gunda after that, did I Every role you play doesn’t have to practically influence your life to the extent of drastically altering your personality. It can have an impact on you, sure. You can understand and absorb it, maybe even learn from it like I learnt to see some things a little differently after playing Kabir — but it is not necessary that you literally turn into them. If I start cooking at home, meri behen ghar chhod ke chali jayegi!” he asserts. ON NATIONAL HONOURS Responding to a question about how much he values awards and what his take on national honours such as the Padma Shri received by Ajay Devgn is, Arjun avers, “I think Ajay sir has flown down to Delhi all the way from Bulgaria in the middle of his shoot schedule to receive this award, and that in itself is a statement on how important it is. I would say, in fact, that not only every actor but every Indian works towards being recognised by the government at some point in their lives. Government recognition is a very high form of respect for what we do. I remember, when my father won a National Award for Pukaar, and when Anil chachu won a National Award for the same movie, they were genuinely emotional. Because it is a genuinely big deal. All awards are a way of knowing that you are heading in the right direction. National honours are credible awards and are therefore that much more important. Very few people receive them, and so they become a part of every actor’s ambition or aim in life. Being recognised by your country is a very significant thing for anyone.”
