‘I Don’t Give Much Importance To Looks’

‘It’s
the
work
that
counts.’

Arjun
Rampal
has
been
busy
working
in
various
projects,
and
he’s
excited
about
them
all.

But
the
thing
he’s
*really*
excited
about
is
the
fact
that
his
elder
daughter
Mahikaa
is
training
to
be
an
actor.

“I
think
she
will
be
fabulous,”
Arjun
raves
to

Subhash
K
Jha.

What
are
your
current
projects?

There
are
a
few
films
that
completely
ready
for
release
like

Punjab
95
with
Diljit
Dosanjh,
directed
by
Honey
Trehan
and
produced
by
Ronnie
Screwvala.

I’m
really
excited
about

The
Rapist
with
Konkona
Sensharma,
directed
by
Aparna
Sen
and
produced
by
Sameer
Nair.
It
is
a
complex
role
of
a
man
dealing
with
his
wife’s
rape.

Aparna
is
one
of
the
few
female
directors
I’ve
worked
with.
The
other
was
Reema
Kagti
for

Honeymoon
Travels
Pvt
Ltd.

The
Rapist
is
very
sensitive
exploration
of
the
trauma
of
rape.

Konkona
is
exceptional.

Aparna
thinks
you
are
a
gorgeous-looking
man.

(laughs)
Well,
she
is
a
gorgeous
woman.

Honestly,
I
don’t
give
much
importance
to
looks,
it’s
the
work
that
counts.

There
is
another
special
film
which
I’ve
done.

Which
is?

The
Blind
Game,
directed
by
Sangeeth
Sivan.
It’s
so
sad
that
this
will
be
his
last
film.
Such
a
wonderful
human
and
director
he
was!

I
have
two
Abbas-Mustan
films,

Penthouse
and

Three
Monkeys.

Then,
there’s
the
Netflix
series,

Rana
Naidu
2.

Currently,
I
am
filming
for
Aditya
Dhar’s

Dhurandhar.
An
amazing
lad
with
a
fabulous
mind.

What
do
you
look
for
in
your
scripts
at
this
juncture
of
your
career?

I
guess
how
different
it
will
be
from
what
I
have
done
before,
how
much
I
can
lose
myself
in
it.

Your
daughters
are
young
ladies.
Are
they
readying
themselves
to
follow
in
daddy’s
footsteps?

I
just
want
them
to
do
whatever
makes
them
happy.

My
elder
one,
Mahikaa,
has
graduated
from
film
school.
She’s
training
to
be
an
actress
and
has
my
full
support.

I
think
she
will
be
fabulous.

Myra
is
off
to
university
in
London
to
study
the
business
of
fashion.

They
have
been
able
to
identify
their
paths
as
of
now.

Circumstances
and
mindsets
change
all
the
time,
so
we
just
go
with
the
flow.

You
have
been
around
for
a
good
25
years.
How
much
has
the
film
industry
changed?

It’s
gotten
more
professional,
for
sure.

The
crews
are
more
educated,
the
discipline
on
set
is
much
better.

There’s
less
time
to
bond
like
the
old
days
but
the
output
is
far
greater.

It’s
tough
to
have
good
friends
in
the
industry
but
at
the
same
time,
not
impossible.

When
are
you
directing
a
film?

Very
soon.