‘Good Roles Are Playing Hard To Get With Me’

‘Some
people
tell
me
you’re
playing
hard
to
get.
But
I’m
not.
It’s
the
other
way
around.’

Kunal
Kapoor
has
been
in
the
movie
business
for
over
two
decades
but
his
filmography
remains
rather
low-key
with
a
small
number
of
projects
happening
every
so
often.

The
actor
was
recently
seen
as
a
cop
on
hot
pursuit
in
the
Netflix
heist
drama

Jewel
Thief,
which
marks
his
return
to
the
scene
after
four
years.

“As
an
actor,
you’re
a
vulnerable
and
helpless
piece
of
the
puzzle.
There
are
so
many
factors
that
go
into
making
a
good
film,
and
so
many
factors
that
go
into
you
getting
the
kind
of
work
you
want
to
do,”
Kunal
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff,
explaining
his
absence.

What
is

Jewel
Thief‘s
Vikram
Patel
up
to
right
now,
do
you
think?

(Laughs)
He
is
probably
still
chasing
Saif
somewhere
in
the
world,
and
he
is
still
five
minutes
behind
him.

When
a
project
like

Jewel
Thief
comes
to
you,
are
you
focused
on
your
character
and
the
story?
Or
do
you
think
of
it
as
a
complete
package?

It
is
obviously
the
complete
package.

Firstly,
the
character
was
very
attractive
to
me
because
I’ve
never
had
a
chance
to
play
a
character
like
that.
It
was
a
chance
to
do
something
new.

Secondly,
I
enjoy
heist
films.
Some
of
my
favourite
films
are
heist
films.
I
always
wanted
to
do
something
in
that
genre.

Thirdly,
the
people
that
you’re
working
with,
right?
Who’s
directing
it?
Who’s
producing
it?
Who
are
the
other
actors
that
you’re
working
with?

This
is
one
of
the
films
that
ticked
the
boxes.

This
project
comes
four
years
since
your
last
outing

The
Empire.
What’s
the
reason
behind
such
a
long
break?

It’s
been
four
years
since
my
last
project
released
but
I
started
shooting
for
multiple
things
in
2023
itself.

I
was
away
only
from
the
movie
set
for
two
years,
actually.
People
assume
that
because
you’re
not
seen,
you’re
not
connected
to
the
industry,
which
is
not
true.

I’m
constantly
working
on
plays.

I’m
doing
workshops.

I’ve
also
got
a
writer’s
room
where
I’m
developing
scripts
that
I
really
want
to
produce
and
act
in.

I
might
have
been
out
of
the
limelight
but
I
was
still
deeply
connected
to
the
work.
Whatever
happens,
I’m
always
connected
to
the
movie
industry.

Did
you
miss
being
on
sets?

I
always
say
that
you
become
an
actor
because
you
want
to
be
seen
by
the
world,
not
hide
from
it.

You
want
to
reach
out
to
as
many
people
as
possible.

You
want
to
be
in
the
theatres,
you
want
to
be
on
television.

So
it’s
obviously
wonderful
to
see
yourself
in
a
film
that
is
going
to
reach
out
to
a
lot
of
people.
Not
only
because
of
the
scale
of
the
film
but
also
because
it’s
on
a
platform
like
Netflix,
which
means
that
it’s
going
across
to
people
around
the
world.

You
have
been
selective
with
your
projects
and
have
remained
relatively
away
from
the
limelight.
Was
it
by
choice
or
you
didn’t
find
good
work?

No,
it’s
definitely
not
by
choice.
It’s
more
a
lack
of
good
scripts
coming
my
way.

Some
people
tell
me
that
you’re
being
choosy
and
playing
hard
to
get.
But
I’m
not.

It’s
the
other
way
around:
The
good
roles
are
playing
hard
to
get
with
me.

So
yeah,
I
would
love
to
do
a
lot
more
work
because
like
I
said,
nobody
becomes
an
actor
to
not
be
seen
enough.

You
become
an
actor
so
that
you’re
out
there
on
screen,
in
people’s
homes.

I’d
like
to
see
a
lot
more
of
myself
out
there.

Is
keeping
yourself
relevant
a
task?

You
realise
over
time
that
sometimes
visibility
trumps
talent.
This
means
that
people
might
feel
you’re
talented
but
if
you’re
not
visible
to
them,
it’s
possible
that
roles
will
not
come
your
way.

So,
it
is
an
industry
where
visibility
is
very
important.

You
have
to
find
a
balance
between
doing
work
for
visibility
and
doing
work
for
artistic
satisfaction.

A
very
big
actor,
I
forget
who,
had
said
that
the
advice
I
give
young
actors
is
just
be
seen
because
even
if
you’re
the
biggest
actor
in
the
world,
the
moment
you’re
not
seen
for
long
enough,
people
start
forgetting
you.
Visibility
is
very
important.

But
it’s
a
fine
balance.

Are
you
going
to
do
stuff
that
you
don’t
enjoy
for
visibility?
No,
I
don’t
want
to
be
that
actor.

Is
there
something
you
still
find
particularly
challenging
about
your
profession?

I
think
it’s
the
unpredictability.
The
thing
with
the
profession
is
that
nobody
knows
what
is
going
to
work
and
what
is
not.

There’s
no
formula.

What
connects
with
the
audience
is
something
very
mysterious,
right?
It
is
very
unpredictable
and
that
makes
it
exciting
as
well.

The
other
thing
is
that
a
lot
of
people
assume
that
actors
have
a
lot
of
control.

A
few
actors
do,
right
on
the
top.

Otherwise,
for
actors,
your
career
is
in
so
many
different
hands…
the
writer
who’s
writing
the
script,
the
director
who’s
thinking
of
you
for
that
particular
part,
the
editor,
the
person
who
will
shoot
you
in
a
particular
way,
the
person
who
will
give
music
to
the
film…

The
music
might
be
a
hit
or
not.

Then
someone’s
going
to
release
the
film.
The
film
might
be
great
but
might
not
find
the
right
kind
of
release.

As
an
actor,
you’re
a
vulnerable
and
helpless
piece
of
the
puzzle.

There
are
so
many
factors
that
go
into
making
a
good
film,
and
so
many
factors
that
go
into
you
getting
the
kind
of
work
you
want
to
do.

Does
it
get
overwhelming
to
keep
up
with
it?

Firstly,
you
have
to
love
the
profession
enough.

A
lot
of
people
don’t
continue
because
when
it
gets
difficult,
they
probably
don’t
love
it
enough
to
continue.
They’re
like
why
should
I
go
through
this
kind
of
unpredictability
or
rejection
or
being
constantly
having
my
fate
in
the
audience’s
hands?

It
can
get
difficult
for
some
people
but
if
you
love
it
enough,
there’s
no
question
of
what
makes
you
keep
going
because
you
want
to
only
do
this.

For
me,
it
was
very
clear
that
if
I’m
not
getting
the
kind
of
scripts
I
have
my
heart
in,
then
I
develop
the
scripts
that
I
have
my
heart
in.
That’s
why
I
started
a
writer’s
room.

It
is
a
tough
profession.
But
if
you
love
it
enough,
you
never
question
whether
you
should
keep
going
or
not.

Are
these
projects
already
in
the
pipeline?
The
ones
that
you
have
written
yourself.

One
of
them
might
go
into
production
this
year.

The
other
two,
hopefully,
next
year.

They
are
complete
scripts
and
one
of
them
is
at
an
advanced
stage
of
moving
forward.

How
did
you
get
into
writing?

I’ve
been
in
the
movie
industry
for
the
last
25
years
and
it’s
my
favourite
place
in
the
world.
Nothing
makes
me
happier.

When

Rang
De
Basanti
was
being
written,
I
was
an
assistant
director
with
Rakyesh
(Omprakash
Mehra).

I
first
read
the
story
as
an
assistant
director,
then
became
an
actor.

I
think
the
one
thing
that
came
very
naturally
to
me
was
storytelling.
It’s
something
I
have
always
enjoyed.

I
have
written
short
stories
right
from
the
time
I
was
very
young.

The
first
time
I
had
a
chance
to
sort
of
develop
a
story
into
a
film
was
with

Luv
Shuv
Tey
Chicken
Khurana.

I
was
deeply
involved
in
the
writing
process
of
that
film.
It
was
enjoyable
because
it
came
from
people
that
we
had
seen
in
our
own
lives,
as
opposed
to
the
Punjab
that
was
portrayed
on
screen.

It
was
gratifying
to
be
able
to
see
something
that
feels
authentic
to
you,
go
from
just
writing
to,
you
know,
finally
being
a
film.

In
2021,
I
started
putting
down
all
the
stories
that
I
wanted
to
develop
into
scripts.
I
started
reaching
out
to
writers
that
I
wanted
to
work
with.

I
put
a
team
of
writers
together
and
the
idea
was
to
develop
stories
that
we
are
passionate
about.

Speaking
of

Luv
Shuv
Tey
Chicken
Khurana,
Vicky
Kaushal
played
the
younger
version
of
your
character
in
that
film.
Have
you
guys
met
up
after
that
film?

No,
I
haven’t
had
a
chance
to
chat
about
it
with
him.
That
was
his
first
film.

I’m
very
happy
with
the
way
his
career
has
gone
from
there
to
now.
It’s
incredible
to
see
his
career
graph.
He’s
an
amazing
actor.

Even
then,
I
remember
when
we
were
shooting

Luv
Shuv
Tey
Chicken
Khurana,
everybody
on
set
was
talking
about
what
a
wonderful
actor
he
is
even
though
he
had
a
very
small
part
in
it.

It’s
great
to
see
him
go
from
strength
to
strength.

Does
one’s
career
get
affected
when
a
show
or
film
gets
bad
reviews?

Yeah,
of
course.
I
mean,
not
only
for
somebody
like
me,
but
even
for
the
biggest
actors.

If
you
have
a
film
that
doesn’t
do
well
in
the
box
office,
it
does
affect
your
credibility.

How
do
you
bounce
back
from
there?

You
know,
it’s
not
like
you’re
thinking
about,
oh,
now
I
have
to
bounce
back.
It’s
just
that
you
sort
of
dust
yourself
off
and
move
on
to
the
next
thing.

I
don’t
think
there’s
any
magic
formula
of
how
you
move
on.

What
I
do
is
I
watch
the
film,
try
to
understand
if
it’s
worked,
why
it
worked.
If
it
hasn’t
worked,
why
it
didn’t
work.

If
people
didn’t
like
my
work,
what
is
it
that
they
didn’t
like?
Whether
that
is
something
I
can
work
on.

I
like
to
get
feedback
from
people.

Looking
back
at
the
25
years
of
your
career,
is
there
anything
you
could
have
done
differently
as
an
actor?

I
could
have
done
a
lot
more
work,
for
sure.

The
thing
is,
it’s
very
difficult
to
look
back
and
say
what
is
it
that
could
have
been
different.

There’s
so
many
things
that
sometimes
come
together
and
sometimes,
don’t.

For
instance,
there
have
been
films
that
I’ve
been
excited
about
and
they’re
being
developed,
so
you
don’t
do
work
for
about
two
years
because
you’re
really
want
to
do
that
film.
And
you
wait
for
that
firm
to
happen
and
sometimes,
it
doesn’t
happen.
So
you
have
spent
two
years
waiting
for
a
film
that
didn’t
happen,
and
you
didn’t
do
other
work
in
the
process.

Or
sometimes
you
do
a
film
and
it
doesn’t
get
the
right
kind
of
release.

What
you
can
do
differently
is
very
difficult
to
tell
but
I
would
have
definitely
liked
to
have
done
a
lot
more
work.

Is
there
any
role
of
yours
that
you
think
deserved
more
attention?

Well,
there
was
a
sweet
film
that
I
did
called

Kaun
Kitney
Paani
Mein.
It
had
Radhika
Apte
and
is
directed
by
Nila
Madhab
Panda.

It
was
a
very,
very
small
film
but
an
entertaining,
satirical
look
at
a
place
where
water
becomes
scarce.

It
didn’t
get
the
kind
of
release
it
should
have,
though
a
lot
of
people
from
the
industry
have
seen
it.

What’s
next?

Vishwambhara
is
up
for
release
in
the
next
couple
of
months,
starring
Chiranjeevi
sir.

Then
there’s

Ramayana
(the
Nitesh
Tiwari
directorial).