Khel khel mein
Jasmine Singh
He walks in looking and smelling fresh in a blue coloured sweatshirt; this doe-eyed actor plonks himself on the couch, throwing his head back, “I can be myself right. I have mastered the art of being on and off,” actor Arjun Kapoor says without pretence. A livewire on stage, the actor can be pretty unassuming, in a nicer way. “I am learning. I am more open to media, and to the audience. Since, I don’t get to meet them often, it is nice to be jovial and entertaining.” And what about the close-guarded personal space? “That is one thing, but being in public is another. Actually, my attitude to quite an extent monitored by the positivity and energy around me,” his head still resting back.
This Khatron Ka Khiladi comes to Chandigarh talking about the show which is aired on Colors Channel, and also about anything you wish to know. We mean Arjun is not stuck up, and treats every one pretty seriously. The word here is ‘adventure’….
“As a child, I was a football myself, so a thing like adventure didn’t happen. As an actor, however, I have done a lot of stunts and action scenes, but it is with Khatron Ke Khiladi 7 that I got to explore my adventurous streak. Now, I think I would look forward to doing more adventure,” says Arjun batting his eye-lids. This one is a real superman—Salman Ka Fan!
But unlike Salman Khan or for that matter Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan, Arjun has an early start as a reality TV host. As we ask him why, we expect him to throw one of his wickedly sexy smiles, which he doesn’t.
“I was excited when I was approached to be the host of Khatron Ke Khiladi 7. I didn’t expect TV to happen too soon in my career,” adds Arjun who brings out his and the contestants’ adventure ka keeda out on the show.
“I had great fun, the show is already a benchmark for itself with famous actors attached to it already. My challenge was to be myself on the show. I had to thankfully sustain the benchmark while I was being me, Arjun Kapoor.” Being Arjun would probably mean being a real Punjabi. “Which I am, can’t help being a Kapoor,” he adds referring to how he is told to be a famous catch for playing a Punjabi character. “I don’t understand that myself, I played a Christian in Finding Fanny, a Kolkattan in Gunday, in fact, in my upcoming film by R Balki’s Ki and Ka, I play a Punjabi. However, other characters around me are more Punjabi,” Arjun adds.
In between we tell him about his groovy looking hair style in Khatron Ki Khiladi, and there he flashes that smile! “Oh that’s Balki sir’s look from the film.” And the conversation reaches the kitchen space of Arjun Kapoor’s upcoming flick Ki and Ka, where he cooks, as he plays a homemaker. He cooked a Lebanese dish on the sets as well!
“Well, that was impromptu. I only know how to boil eggs, or at the most make breakfast. And this also because kal girlfriend ya wife kuch na de toh ande ubaalna to aata hai,” the actor is being himself. “I am confident about some amount of cooking now, I know my way around in the kitchen. This doesn’t make me a Michelin chef. Seriously, though now I have more respect for those who cook for a living and also for those who cook otherwise. You know how it is, coming back late and complaining about food, I wouldn’t do that anymore.” Cooking, that’s ‘the’ passion for the time being? “Honestly, I am too lazy for it,” adds the actor, who has come out of his ‘being shy shell’. “You tell me, have I,” pat comes the question. Kind of we think… “I told you, I have mastered the art of operating the off and on switch. When I go back to the conference, you’ll know what I mean,” he gets up to spin another on stage adventure.
