It will take someone time to beat my record: Guess which record Arjun Kapoor is talking about

He’s part of nine films (two unreleased) and Arjun Kapoor has never repeated a heroine or a director...yet. And that, in itself, is a record of sorts. Add to it the fact that he has an impeccable track record: only one film of his didn’t do as well as expected. Here, he discusses that and what goes into his choice of films.

In your next film, you are working with two new heroines which takes your record to nine. Why have you never repeated a heroine or a director?

I’m so beat up about it! (Laughs) It will take somebody time to beat my record of nine films. But trust me it’s not been intentional but just how things have transpired. To be honest, it’s my genius that’s made me work like this! Or maybe it’s the other way around that nobody wants to repeat me. But on a serious note, some things just happen, you don’t do it deliberately. But years later, I can say, I am one of those actors who has worked with all the actors and directors possible and got more experienced as I worked with them. Maybe in the future you will see some change and see me repeat some people (smiles). You never know. Never say never.

You are doing a lot of firsts. Your last film Ki & Ka was a take on gender equality, far removed from what your contemporaries are doing...

If I didn’t believe in gender equality, I couldn’t have played my part convincingly. Which is why it struck a chord and men and women identified with it. I have grown around women — including my mom, sister and Sonam and Rhea. And because of my upbringing, my outlook towards women is different. I have always believed that women are equal, if not better than men. I also feel, it’s not a competition that someone has to be better or worse — we are all equals. While it is much less today, I hope gender bias continues to reduce in the work place.

How important are economics to you in choosing films?

Apart from being a director’s actor, I am a producer’s actor too because I am a producer’s son. When signing a film, I keep the recovery of a film in mind. I never want any film of mine to be a losing proposition. And fortunately for me, barring one-odd film, all my films have made money for the people involved, or done well. It’s a balance between being creative and seeing that the business keeps running smoothly. I have had a pretty decent ratio where box office success is concerned. When you do a film, as an actor you need to follow a certain discipline and need to be aware that you are not burdening your film. What’s the point of you doing well when your film doesn’t?

Anil, Arjun miss leopard set visit

While actors are used to wrestling with (trained) wild animals while filming, it almost became a real-life situation. A leopard calmly entered the sets of Anees Bazmee’s next, starring Arjun and Anil Kapoor around 3 am earlier this week. The animal walked around for 20 minutes and walked out, oblivious to the commotion it caused! The set was being constructed and around 70 people were present on the sets. Shooting began yesterday with Arjun and Ileana D’Cruz joining the cast and crew. Anil joins them next week.

Producer Murad Khetani confirms, “The leopard was there for about 20 minutes and only the workers were present. It was at night, and dim lights were on, so it wasn’t scared.”

Now that shooting has resumed and the actors are on set, have they taken any precautions? “I don’t think it will come again as now we are several with lots of sound and lights, but we have taken precautions. The unit knows how to handle such situations as they always shoot in Film City.”