Raajneeti and RA.One took Arjun Rampal out of his comfort zone and challenged him. He's looking to get terrified. Wanna oblige him, anyone? It's a rainy Tuesday morning. I am tempted to stay indoors. But I decide to keep my appointment with Arjun Rampal on the other side of the Sea Link. My driver lacks my dedication, and stays at home. I brave the rains and reach Mehboob Studios wet (umbrellas are useless) and wild (windswept hair) to find the actor immersed in a TV interview. That wraps quickly enough, and we head to his van for a tete-a-tete. "I'm on a hat trick," Arjun announces with a smile as we settle down with coffee.u00a0u00a0 <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/sep/Arjun.jpg" border="5" /> After Housefull and Raajneeti, are you feeling the pressure? No. Not after I've seen the film. It's a film I am proud of and can show it to anyone who isn't even part of this industry, without cringing. Even Raajneeti and Rock On!! were like that. For a wider audience. You've done close to thirty films. It's only now that directors are taking you seriously. Is it the National Award? Or is it the kind of films you are selecting now? I've done about 32 films. Which includes special appearances. I think 28-29 films in nine years is not a lot. I was always selective about the kind of films I did, but finally it is always about what kind of films are coming to you. I've had to choose out of that. I think it was the worst phase of our industry, the most confused phase, because the audience was changing. There was a new breed of actors, producers, directors ufffd all of them coming in ufffd between 2002 and 2006. You had the run-of-the-mill stuff and there were people like UTV doing the smaller films, actors doing parts which are not stereotypical, etc. Filmmakers were experimenting with smaller films. One obviously cannot experiment on a big budget. I think audiences were changing too. There was a lot of confusion and I was stuck within that, trying to create a space that every actor wants for himself. You try to find your groove. I realised I did not want to fit into any groove, I just wanted to create a space, where the image apart, people come to see your work. So I stopped doing films till an Om Shanti Om happened, then Don happened and then Rock On!! Those films helped me find my space. But you didn't want to do Om Shanti Om. True. It was thanks to Shah Rukh Khan and Farah, really. When I was offered the film, I told him, 'Dude, 30 to 60 years old, and a terrible character, my kids are not going to be able to see it.' And he said, 'Do one movie for yourself, you will do many for your kids. And if you can pull off playing a character that ages thirty years, it will change a lot of things.' I was still apprehensive, but once I made a commitment, I gave it my 110 per cent. And that was a huge awakening for me to see our audiences have changed. They don't look at you as a villain, they look at you as a character, and what you can do as an actor, and that is very cool. To me, it means a big deal when the audience remembers my character's name. After OSO, wherever I went, I was called Mikey. After Rock On!, it was Joe, post-Don, they called me JJ, Anna after Housefull and Prithvi after Raajneeti. So I know the characters worked. Are you a spontaneous actor? It depends on the character you are playing. Sometimes you go on spontaneity because it doesn't make sense to go for method. Sometimes you do homework. But I think you balance the two for most films. So for your character in Raajneeti... (interrupts) That was something that really took its toll on me, on my family. I knew I had to play a character who was ambitious, ruthless and cruel. I wanted that raw viciousness to come across. It wasn't planned as such. Sometimes it can just happen. I became temperamental and unpredictable to play Prithvi. I became very snappy during that phase. I would snap at people. And Prithvi didn't listen to anyone, so I stopped listening. And when you stop listening, it becomes very difficult for the people around you. Mehr was like, 'This movie hadbetter be good, after all you have made us go through.' What did you do? I stayed away from home as much as I could. I wanted to detach completely. I was mostly on the sets. If I got time off, I would go to Delhi and spend time there. I didn't want to come around my family too much. They did miss me a lot, but if I came back even for a couple of days, I just couldn't step out of character. The good part was that we shot it start-to -finish, so even if you got a break, it would be for a day or two, so you just shut off for those two days. Is RA.One taking a similar toll on you? Physically, it's been the most challenging film I've done. I've never been so fit in my life. For the whole vibe of the film and my character, it was very important to get a look in place. Because it is about that. It was a lot of pressure. One, because it is the most expensive film being made. Two, my friend (SRK) is making it. I know how passionate he is about it, we all are working towards it. I know his vision, he has put us on the same page, he's challenging us to go there. So physically, its been torture. You've shaved your hair, was that bad for your vanity? Shaved? You don't know what I have done ufffd I am not saying. But I am not at all vain. That I have experimented with my look should tell you that I am not. It could also be that you believe that you are so good-looking, you can pull anything off. I am not bald in the film. But let's not discuss the look as Shah Rukh doesn't want that to come out. He wants the character to have an impact on the screen. It was difficult to get that look absolutely going, but I am happy with it, I am happy I took that step. These are challenges you take. So what's next? The thing that scares me the most. Raajneeti's character scared me, RA.One's character scared me, Rock On!!'s character did not scare me at all. I saw a lot of meu00a0-- an artistu00a0-- in him. An artist who 90 per cent of the time is sitting at home, waiting for the phone to ring. I knew I could connect with that character on that level. What brings fear into you, that fear becomes your challenge, and there's something new and different to give. So I am sitting, waiting to be scared. Many actors refused to do We Are Family because it was a woman-centric film. Did you have any reservations? That was also my apprehension when Karan approached me. But then he said: Read the script. They've brought out this newness in the male protagonist, a new dimension that made me agree. He is the most unsympathetic character, and my challenge was to make him likeable. That was my job as the actor and it became my goal. Did it help that you are a dad in real life when you played the character? Definitely. It helps your body language. Karan would tell me: you are so natural with children. And I think, not only me, but also Kajol. The way she is with the kids, I think the casting worked out perfectly. It definitely helps. Are you a hands-on father? Pretty much, but I am the good cop. Mehr is the bad cop. Have your kids seen the film? Yes, and they loved it. They are dancing on the table to Jailhouse Rock. My wife's a huge Kajol fan. Some channel was running a story of SRK hijacking an interview you were doing with Bebo for another channel. Comment. SRK is the most spontaneous film superstar, actor, whatever you want to call him. He was shooting for an ad atu00a0 Mehboob Studios, when he heard Kareena and I were doing an interview on another set, he very spontaneously came to say hi. He stood behind the camera and waved to us, and of course, we all stood up and said, "Hey Shah Rukh, what's up?" So he said, "How is it going?" And I was like, "It's going ufffd" And he came over and said, "I am also a part of the family, why are they not asking me anything?" It was as spontaneous as that.u00a0 Kareena and I are both in RA.One and he came to meet both his actors. It was a beautiful interview, it was one of the nicest interviews we had done through all these promotions. We just pulled each other's legs and had a lot of fun. We spoke about everything except the film. It is so sad that the next day, some news channel said that Shah Rukh had hijacked the interview. These things are so upsetting. This is because a perception of the industry is always created in such a negative way, when actually there is a lot of positivity that happens within it. Actors are the most positive people around. They bring so much and give it all for people to judge them on. It's tough. Speaking of tough, why are you not part of Don 2? Farhan is like a brother to me. He's given me Don, I learnt a lot from him. We did Rock On!! together. We bonded very well. With Don 2, they wanted to go ahead with new characters, it is as simple as that. They wanted to go into a space where Jasjit's character was not fitting in. Which is fine with me. People are talking about money issues but those would never be issues between us. If a banner came to you with two films with same star cast and director. One was a good script, other a better fee, which would you choose? The one with the better script, for sure. I've done so many films like that. My last four-five films have been only for that. I hope I start making some money now, I need some.

Raajneeti and RA.One took Arjun Rampal out of his comfort zone and challenged him. He's looking to get terrified. Wanna oblige him, anyone?

Waiting to be scared

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