Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Actor Arjun Kapoor has spoken candidly about the tough times he faced in his life, including the trauma of his parents’ split and the loss of his mother, Mona Shourie. In a recent conversation, Arjun reflected on how these experiences have shaped him and how he has coped with the emotional aftermath.
Recalling the time when his parents, Boney Kapoor and Mona Shourie, split up, Arjun, told Raj Shamani on his podcast, “Unlocking your core memory is tough when you have been through trauma. If you look at my life, scan through it, there has been enough trauma in terms of I lost my mother when I was 25, just before the release of Ishaqzaade, so that’s a pretty traumatic time just on the cusp of starting a profession where I didn’t know what my future was I lost my backbone.”
He added, “My parents split up when I was 10 years old. That’s something that, at that point, didn’t feel that it would shape me and change the course of my entirely because I was dealing with it in real time. But when I look back, there are a lot of things that… For example, my father was busy making two big films when that was happening. He was making Prem and Roop Ki Rani Choro Ka Raja. He was under a lot of pressure to complete those films and release them. So, we never had a normal father-son relationship where he came to school to pick me up or drop me. It’s not that he didn’t try, but I never had that, and then the slip happened also. That is slightly traumatic when you look back and retrospect.”
Arjun also revealed that his situation forced him to mature early on in life. He said, “Now, I have an equation with him when I spend a lot more time with him, but I’m 39. Over the last five years, I have spent more time with him. Again, in traumatic situations the bridging of our relationship happened.”
“I had an interesting childhood. I grew up very fast. I also realised that I have to be responsible and well behaved because I also knew what was going on. It was also a high profile situation at that point because my father is a well-known person as it is. Our family is well known. But at the same time, it’s not like I went through hell because of it. It was balanced our. Dad’s family was there, dad was there.”
Arjun also spoke about how the split affected his academic performance. “I was a naughty kid but I was very good with studies also, till I was in the fourth standard, I was very into it. And then the split happened. Now, when I look back, I couldn’t behave upset and spoilt and throw a s**t fit about it, the fact that I wanted this to not happen, but I think somewhere I lost interest in being good at education because I felt it was a rebellious feat. I chose to look away from that because I felt I didn’t need to do this. People were making their own choices I also wanted to do this. I used to enjoy school and then I started hating it because a lot of people wanted to know what was happening at that point. Thankfully, social media was not there. So it was still a bit of normal murmuring. But I had very good friends and family, I never had to face those issues, it wasn’t like I was isolated.”
Arjun credited films as a source of comfort and connection with his father during this difficult time. “But, as a child you have a sister who is five years younger than you, you have a mother who is dealing with that (kind of situation), and you have a father who loves you but cannot be around. Circumstances were such. That’s when I found film, started watching films, that’s how I connected with my father, I didn’t want to lose that connection.”
When asked if he witnessed his parents fighting before the split, Arjun shared, “I never saw them fighting. I was very fortunate, they respected that. I never saw that side at least. I saw. Avery amicable parting ways in that sense.”
On how he coped with his parents’ split, Arjun revealed, “Initially maybe I must have tried to gain attention. But as I said, I had become very responsible. I became too aware. I matured ahead of my time because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose connection with my father. So I tried to process and analyse it… As long as he was happy with what he had done, I was okay with it. Even if I wasn’t ok with it, I rationalised it in my head at a young age. Thik hai, jo ho gaya woh ho gaya…”
Talking about how the separation impacted his life in little ways, Arjun said, “It’s all the silly moments when you look back. I didn’t know how to shave for the longest time. I started shaving at the age of 18-19, I couldn’t go to him and say ‘I need to learn,’ these are the things that I guess a father tells a son.”
Arjun’s mother, Mona Shourie, passed away in 2012, just before the release of his debut film Ishaqzaade. She was suffering from cancer. Boney Kapoor, after his split with Mona, marred Sridevi.
Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
