Arjun Kapoor confesses he wasn’t in love with cinema when he shot Singham Again’: ‘I was isolated, wondered what is the point?’

‘Worst phase of my life’

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Arjun said, “When I signed this film, I was going through the worst phase of my life, personally, professionally, emotionally, mentally, and physically.” Arjun Kapoor, anyway took up the role, and was asked to be in a certain look for a period of time as his shooting days were not scheduled for the film. The actor shared, “Rohit sir had told me, ‘I need you to be in the look because we will shoot with you whenever possible’. I just took that as a stepping stone towards my own personal development as well.”

This was the only film the actor had signed at that time, and this was also the time when Arjun Kapoor thought of taking a step back and opt for ‘less is more’ lifestyle. He said, “I was not looking around or seeking because when you are doing this kind of film, you cannot do twenty things at the same time. It turned out to be a pretty introspective time for me where I realised less is more for me today going forward. Now, it’s easy but I wouldn’t have anticipated these kind of films coming my way back then. I was also going through a very internal beat so it’s not like I didn’t do it because I didn’t want to work. I was not getting the best offers any which ways. I wasn’t really excited about it.”

He added, “Arguably I have shot the most entertaining commercial film of my life, the biggest film of my life while not really being in love with cinema and that’s quite a paradox if you look at it and this is a kid who has grown knowing only cinema. That twinkle in my eye was not there.”

‘Will people care about me again?’

“I used to wonder sometimes, ‘What’s the point of it all? Is it really going to pan out? Am I going to be in love with cinema again? Are people really going to care about me again? Is the audience going to reject me? Question it? I was going through all that while I was doing the film. Not in the moment of shot, but my schedule was scattered while I shot for 50 odd days for the film. I have never been with all the other actors to that degree, I was very isolated during my shoot. The baggage was there. I didn’t doubt my ability to do the role, I doubted whether people would engage”, said Arjun Kapoor.

During this time, the actor took therapies to deal with his problems. This timed just well with the release of the film, and with the audience receiving his role well, things changed for the actor. To express his gratitude, Arjun Kapoor penned an emotional note on his Instagram on Wednesday.

His note read, “Here’s to turning non-believers into believers! Every question & doubt only fueled my determination to work harder and come back stronger. To everyone who cheered for me then and still does now – thank you. Your support means everything. To those who doubted me, thank you for pushing me to prove myself again!”

 

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Looking at the film’s success in terms of box office numbers, the actor wrote, “What a journey it’s been so far; it feels like my debut all over again, and I have a long way to go. Grateful for every step, every lesson, and every bit of love and fire!” His caption was accompanied by the hashtage, ‘Arjun 2.0’.

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Arjun Kapoor marked his debut with the 2012 film Ishqzaade, also starring Parineeti Chopra. The film was declared a hit at the box office with Arjun Kapoor bagging Zee Cine Award for Best Male Debut. He went on to star in films like Gunday, 2 States, Ki & Ka, which gave his acting career a promising start. However, his films post 2016 suffered at the box office, making him a target of trolls. The actor was recently in the headlines for confirming his break up with his longtime girlfriend Malaika Arora.

Singham Again, starring Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, and Akshay Kumar, has earned over Rs 160 crore in India since its release on November 1.