‘Fearless’ Salman Khan isn’t a bully, there is a lot of warmth to him: Arjun Kapoor opens up about former mentor

Arjun Kapoor recently spoke about the important role that Salman Khan played in his career.

New Delhi | December 21, 2024 03:26 PM IST

3 min read

Arjun Kapoor talks about his former mentor Salman Khan. (Photo: IE Archives)

Arjun Kapoor was just an aspiring filmmaker when he met superstar Salman Khan. He worked as an assistant director on Salman’s 2009 film Wanted, produced by his father, Boney Kapoor. Becoming an actor was never a part of Arjun’s plans, mostly because he didn’t think he looked like a conventional hero. However, things changed for him when Salman Khan took him under his wing and motivated him to shed weight. Four years later, Arjun Kapoor made his Bollywood debut with the 2012 film Ishaqzaade and there was no turning back from there.

In a recent conversation with Raj Shammani, Arjun shared his opinion about Salman, and how he motivated him to become who he is today. Speaking about Salman’s film choices, Arjun Kapoor said, “He has always looked at cinema as an audience’s medium, he has never looked at it only as an artiste. Even today, he does stage shows and Bigg Boss. These are mass mediums. He operates for the masses. He has worked for the audienc,e and then he has built that audience. Maybe this comes to him because he is grown up around Salim-Javed. He put it to use in mainstream cinema. ”

Calling him a fun guy, Arjun Kapoor quashed the rumours about the star being a bully. He said, “He is not a bully. Anybody who has a tough image… When you are not always openly warm in the first few minutes, you feel they are being a certain way. There is a lots of warmth to that man. It’s just he might not give it in the first second. But you will have to allow that to happen.”

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“He is the most fearless man in the world. I have never seen him shirk adversity, responsibility. He has not changed. He has always been the same person at the core. He has a very strong mind,” added Arjun.

Explaining his respect towards the superstar, Arjun credited Salman for motivating him to become who he is today. He said, “My weight-loss journey started because he said give it a shot. He actually made me realise that. I wanted to become a filmmaker. I never thought of becoming an actor because I weighed 150 kgs. So when that conversation happened with him, he said, give it a shot. He saw me dancing and joking and he saw an entertainer in me. This is what planted in me. He helped me through my physical transformation.”

Arjun had previously dated Salman Khan’s sister, Arpita Khan. Later, he was also in a relationship with the actor’s former sister-in-law, Malaika Arora.

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