After being criticised for his acting skills — or the lack thereof — Arjun Kapoor appears to be shifting perceptions with his portrayal of the main antagonist in director Rohit Shetty’s multi-starrer actioner Singham Again. Despite making his debut in 2012 with the lead role in director Habib Faisal’s romantic actioner Ishaqzaade opposite Parineeti Chopra, Arjun’s career was marked by a string of misfires, with his last movie, The Lady Killer (2023), earning just Rs 60,000 against a reported budget of Rs 45 crore.
As he embarks on a new chapter, the actor, son of renowned producer Boney Kapoor and the late Mona Shourie, recently reflected on his career choices. He also shared his initial reservations about the casting of Parineeti Chopra in his debut film Ishaqzaade, mainly because he found her too talkative.
Stating that she did a terrific job in the film, he told Mashable India, “I was very against her when the casting happened. I was like, ‘Yeh bahut baat karti hai (she talks a lot)’ and her readings were also bad. Parineeti Chopra does not like doing workshops and readings; she’s a very spontaneous actor. Or perhaps, she saves it for the sets.”
“On the first day, I cracked some joke and she looked at me and said ‘lol’. I was like, ‘Can’t you just laugh?’ It’s not a chat, right? Why are you saying ‘lol’ (laugh out loud)? Just laugh. I found her irritating since she talked in emojis. Then I thought she was not serious about it despite getting such a big movie. I had been waiting for six months for us to get Zoya (Parineeti’s character) and when we finally did, Zoya was doing ‘lol lol.’ I was like, ‘Mera career khatam hogaya (my career is over),’ since this girl doesn’t have any interest. She was already doing Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, so I thought she doesn’t have anything at stake. (At that age) you just judge people, right? I was 24 and wanted to make a career here. I was thinking, ‘Yeh abhi aayi hai… pehle YRF mein kaam karti thi, phir ek picture karli Ranaveer Singh ke saath toh usko lagta hai ki bohat badi staar banagayi. Kaha isko acting aata hai? (she has just come… she previously worked at YRF, then did a film with Ranveer Singh and she feels that she has become a big star. What would she know about acting?),’” he recalled.
“Then we did then we did a mock shoot, and I have to confess, I was so much in shock (of Parineeti’s performance) that I forgot my lines and my acting. My effort learning the script for months had gone to waste. As soon as the camera was on, she had fire in her eyes. Once she was terrific in the mock shoot, I was like, ‘Theek hai, yeh karlengi‘,” Arjun quipped.
