I’m work in progress, says Arjun Kapoor on his 10th year in Hindi film industry

When the dark and gritty romantic action film Ishaqzaade was released in 2012, one could sense that a wave of change had been slowly sweeping over Hindi cinema. While that year saw many tentpole movies such as Ek Tha Tiger and Agneepath becoming blockbusters — as expected, novel films like Barfi! and English Vinglish also received an overwhelming response. Newcomers Ayushmann Khurrana and Arjun Kapoor made their debut in the edgy Vicky Donor and Ishaqzaade that year and were accepted with open arms.

In an exclusive interview with trade magazine Super Cinema, Kapoor thanked the audience for being receptive to him despite the fact that he played a negative character in his first film. "On a basic level, Parma [his Ishaqzaade character] was a terrible person who did a terrible deed and normally the commercial audience would not be accepting of this. People would be like, 'You’re doing a film where you’re getting married to a heroine and leaving her'. That would be the end of your career. But the audience gave so much love to me and the film. That itself was a big learning for me that our audience is changing. Now when I look back, I feel just as vulnerable. The film itself chose me and technically I made my debut as a negative character. So, the acceptance made me realize with my first film itself that I could take risks.”

The actor posted a heartfelt note on Instagram this morning and waxed nostalgic about his first film. Describing himself as a work in progress in the caption, the actor wrote, "It has been one hell of a ride. Many ups, many downs. Counting my blessings along the way."

Kapoor has come a long way since 2012. Not just has he grown as an actor but the fact that he’s had a lot to deal with quite early on seems to have made him stronger as a person. Kapoor lost his mother in March 2012, right before he made his debut. His mother remains one of the actor's most important influences and he continues to miss her.

On 25 March, Kapoor took to Instagram to post a heartfelt message to his mother that read, “That’s where we will meet again Maa, up there from where you watch over Ansh and me. I miss you can’t wait to see u again get held by u one more time hear your voice one more time see you and smile one more time. I’ll see u soon, 10 years since I saw you last. Everything in this life is redundant and pointless... the success the failure the good the bad they all remind me of not having you here. Life is unfair, it’s been unkind...you were taken away too early to see your sacrifices pay off. Everyone looks at my face and says I don’t smile enough but how to tell them that my smile left me 10 years back (sic).

"Who will understand that without u around I don’t know what I am without u around I don’t function like a normal kid without you around I’m unable to just be ok. Enough of my rant for today! Today’s a shit day, tomorrow might be better or worse... but I won’t have u around to help me deal with it I’ll just have to fight it on my own and hope you are watching from above and are proud of Arjun, your warrior”

The artiste’s mother would certainly be proud of him as he completes 10 years in the Hindi film industry today. From Ishaqzaade to Aurangzeb (2013), 2 States (2014), Finding Fanny (2014) and Ki And Ka (2016) to his last release Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021), the actor has made some interesting choices and evolved with his craft irrespective of the commercial fate of his movies. Not to mention, he’s also fought against body-shaming and perhaps is inadvertently setting some major fitness goals.

One hopes to see Kapoor continue to grow and hone his skills. The actor’s upcoming projects include Ek Villain Returns (2022), the suspense drama The Lady Killer and the dark comedy Kuttey.