Talking with Subhash K Jha, Arjun Rampal speaks anout his forthcoming projects along with his triumphant villainous and all things real and reel.
How do you view your journey so far?
I am truly blessed and in a great space right now. I am getting to do the kind of work that I really enjoy doing personally, with some fabulously talented people around me.
How is the OTT different from the big screen?
It’s more or less the same to me, OTT you film a lot more very fast, compared to film. You also get to spend more time on fleshing out your character, otherwise it’s all a film set and we doing what we do best make movies.
If your children are inclined towards an acting career,what would your reaction be?
I would encourage them to work on their craft. These days they have great access to a fantastic education which can hone their skills. Mahikaa my eldest daughter has already graduated from film school. Now she should go assist on some films and then start her auditions. It’s a profession which never ceases to surprise you. That’s the beauty of this work. One needs to keep pushing the envelope.
At this juncture what do you look for in your screenplay?
Too many things, like clarity, how unpredictable it is. How easily one can comprehend it without spoon feeding. How original it is. It just goes on and on.
Season 2 of Rana Naidu is more taut and clever than the first, did you have to work harder this time?
Yay, I am delighted you felt that we raised the bar with Season 2. I personally was a fan of season 1, so it was a lot of pressure to live upto. That credit goes to Karan Anshuman, Suparn and Abhay. ?
Your character Rauf is like a modernday Robin Hood,is that how you saw him?
With regards to Morden day Robinhood. Well I think that he is a loyalist and is very protective over his own people. Until the antagonist doesn’t have, a strong belief system of his own. Then it just get boring. So I really pushed Karan in that direction and I am so happy it translated.
Did you have to exorcize your urbanity, work on the accent,the body language?
When you play such characters that are so far away from yourself. You have to only become that person. I gained 12 kgs for this part, as Rana is a huge guy and has very strong screen presence it was important for Rauf to look in a particular way. The accents one had to work on, the body language all that just comes when you are close enough to where you want to go.
