He's a little unwell, Aditya Roy Kapur's manager warns me, as we set to get the actor all suited up for the photo shoot. I wonder if he will be able to give the interview today because I have so many questions, I want to know everything on his mind... especially, why did he do Kalank, man?
My thoughts are interrupted when the set bustles as ARK walks in, with a big, cheery smile on. Too hot, we gush. And nice too, really. He's quick to change, quick to pose, and even quicker to ask me if he can eat while we talk when we're finally done with the shoot. He couldn't share our sandwiches when he was on the floor shooting, so we can't let the guy's omelette get cold.
I know we're all supposed to think of ARK as the breakthrough actor of Aashiqui 2, and rightly so. But you know what comes to my mind? His Omar Siddiqui in Guzaarish. Why? Well, because if you can make your presence felt in a film with Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan leading the way, you are good at your job. Yes, his choices have not necessarily been big hits, in fact, it's been a while since we didn't come out of a film featuring him, nodding in disapproval. But you'll agree with me when I say that none of these "what was that?" films had anything to do with his performance. Can we boil it down to just wrong choices? Maybe. But he definitely doesn't think so. In fact, if anything, he's quite understanding about the fact that his past choices have been…questionable.
The candour and infectious smile that he faces my questions with, it's a discussion I'm intrigued to have. We settle down over a conversation that deepens, then rises to the surface with a few "I don't want to talk about this", and deepens again.
Over to ARK, and everything on his mind for 2020.
On 2020
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