Arjun Kapoor says films are ‘make believe world’, so letting go of moral compass is part of being an actor

PTI

Mumbai, July 17

In order to step out of his safe zone, Bollywood star Arjun Kapoor believes it is necessary for him to not let his moral values govern his film choices.

Right from his 2012 debut ‘Ishaqzaade’ to films such as ‘Aurangzeb’ and ‘Gunday’, the actor is no stranger to playing unlikeable characters on screen.

“Every character will not have my moral compass in it and that is what being an actor is. You will not always agree with your character at a personal level. But as an actor, it is interesting to get into something that I’m not as otherwise I will keep playing myself,” Kapoor told PTI.

There have been a few characters such as Krish from ‘2 States’ and Kabir from ‘Ki & Ka’ which he relates to, he said.

“(With) some characters, there is a moral compass that aligns with you. So you get attracted to films like ‘2 States’ and ‘Ki & Ka’, but that does not happen every time. It is a make-believe (world).

“You can’t take yourself so seriously that you can’t let go of your own thought process. You have to believe that what is being done is for entertainment and to connect with the audience,” the 37-year-old actor added.

Up next for Kapoor is ‘Ek Villain Returns’, a romantic revenge action film also starring John Abraham, Tara Sutaria and Disha Patani.

In the upcoming film, the actor plays Gautam, whom he described as a man who loves to be hated.

“When you play a grey character, you do not believe you are grey. Gautam is neither a hero nor a villain. Whether he is the hero or villain is for the audience to figure out. For me, it is a character. I hope people will tell me what Gautam was and that would be interesting,” he said.

Directed by Mohit Suri, the film deals with extremism that love brings about in different forms.

“It is a slightly exaggerated take on how characters can make certain choices that have an influence on other characters that are not part of your life. My and Tara’s arc has an impact on Disha and John’s story…There are equal and opposite reactions in the film’s context,” Kapoor added.

A sequel to Suri’s 2014 film of the same name, ‘Ek Villain Returns’ is scheduled for a July 29 release.

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