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| Real Reel
Arjun Rampal
He took the ramp
by storm in the 1990s with his smoldering good looks
and perfect body, reigning as one of India’s top notch
models, till he left for pastures new and green — the
world of films. Arjun Rampal, then did the unthinkable
— instead of cashing on his good looks, he chose a completely
off beat film Moksh shot partly in black and white,
starring as a disillusioned attorney who quits the legal
system to pull off a heist at a bank so he could help
the needy fight their legal battles. What stands out
in the film is the James Deanish intensity he brings
to his performance that is mercifully underplayed, especially
in the taut emotional scenes where most Indian films
make their actors beat their chest and ham it up.
Then followed the usual commercial formula films like
Pyar Ishq Mohabbat and Deewanapan capped by the latest
offering, the unusually successful thriller Ankhen in
which Arjun co starred with Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay
Kumar. Even when some of the films didn’t do as well
at the box office Arjun stood out. Touted once as the
handsomest man alive by the Washington Post, Arjun Rampal,
stays strongly grounded, warm and genuinely humble.
“I come from a very simple god fearing family. My mom
has taught me that love is the strongest emotion and
that never turn anyone away; her’s was an open house
and heart and so is mine.”
You took a long time to decide to act in films from
the time you received cinematographer now director Ashok
Mehta’s offer to do the lead in Moksh?
Yes more than a year. Ashok Mehta and I first met while
I was modeling a product that was being directed by
Shekhar Kapur. At that time Shekhar’s movie The Bandit
Queen had come out and he was very excited about it.
We spent ten days together and that’s when Ashok ji
saw me and gave me the script of Moksh. I was not into
acting at all at that time, but when I read the script
it really did impact me. It was written so well that
you could actually visualize the whole story, but I
was going abroad to model for a year and he said, that’s
okay, even I need time to put everything together. You
come back and see how you feel after a year. I was in
New York and modeling there and had a lot of friends
studying at NYU and I started watching films with them,
and came back very intrigued. When I returned I decided
to give the movie a shot and once we started shooting
I realized I really enjoyed being an actor.
You didn’t play safe and chose a very non-commercial
subject in Moksh, where your role had a lot of shades
of gray. For a model with no background in acting you
did an amazing job, with subtlety and excellent voice
modulation.
There was and is this strong stigma, which is so unfair
that models can’t act. So I chose a film, which was
not very commercial, but had a scope for doing a lot.
I prefer doing intense roles myself personally. So that’s
why I chose Moksh as my debut film. I knew the treatment
that was going to happen and was very excited about
the fact that the film was to be shot in black and white.
When you come from an industry of fashion you look at
all these aesthetic points, because you do so many stills
and frames and so on. Ashokji was very sure about the
graph of the character, how he was going to shoot his
film and that is really the key point. You want the
director to have a lot of clarity and then eventually
what happens to the film is not in your hands.
As for the acting, I can’t take all the credit to myself.
Models are so raw; we come into an industry, which we
don’t know anything about. So it is extremely critical
that the hands you fall into are competent hands. Luckily
for me I had the right people backing me. Ashok Mehta
was making his directorial debut but he is a very seasoned
and experienced part of the industry as a cameraman
with films like 36 Chowringee Lane, Bandit Queen, Ram
Lakhan, Saudagar and now Ankhen. As a model I didn’t
take either the image or myself seriously. I wouldn’t
diet or spend 5 hours at the gym. I worked with like-minded
people who believed like I did that fashion was fun,
a celebration of clothing. I come from a very simple
background and I like simplicity. Even in films most
of the time people end up doing too much to what could
be projected simply. And that’s why I like to play my
characters as close to real life as possible.
Are you a director’s actor or do you change things
when you feel something is not right in the way you
are being directed.
I think all actors are directors’ actors. An actor has
to be creative, but he can underplay or overplay his
role, so a director has to control that. Yet it’s very
important for a director to have clarity; it pays to
believe in some directors, while others teach you not
to ever believe in them again! So it’s extremely important
that you also know what you are doing. I can only work
with people who don’t have ego hassles about getting
input from others. There are definitely times you differ
from the director’s perspective and realize later that
your perception was right, and tell the director I told
you so and now it’s too late. I work a lot on my role
in the beginning so that I know what I am going to do.
Once it goes on the floor I try to look at the entire
film and how it is shaping up, but I don’t believe in
interfering then. I ask all the questions beforehand.
Unfortunately in our country things are not so professional.
A lot of the directors are not even ready with their
scripts when they approach you. Now I insist on a full
script. It makes it easier on everybody and I feel that
if I put that pressure on a prospective director it
will help him as well, because when he creates a script
and goes through the technicalities he too will have
a clearer picture of what he is trying to make.
You seem to have made a conscious effort not to sign
too many films, unlike others who sign anything and
everything especially when they are making a foothold
in the industry.
Well you want to continuously evolve and I feel for
an actor to really grow from one level to another is
to do limited work. We tend to overload ourselves so
much that we lose touch with what is most important,
to observe life and learn from it. You don’t get time
to reflect. I do less work but the work I want to do.
The day I started acting I left modeling. A model trains
differently, is more focused on his appearance, so automatically
he looks at a camera differently and brings a certain
amount of stiffness in his persona. An actor however
has to get under the skin of a character and become
that person. I had to reorganize the way I looked at
the camera. I still feel I was a little stiff in the
first few scenes in Moksh, but Ashokji calmly eased
me into the role. Luckily for me the movie took a long
time to make and so I could study and understand the
medium more.
Do you like doing multi-starrers? Do you feel short
changed at times like it happened in Ankhen” You starred
with Amitabh Bachchan, Akhshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal,
all senior to you and it seemed that though you stood
out your role was pretty small compared to the others.
When you do multi-starrers the plus is you get to interact
with so many actors and learn so much from them and
when the movie does well everyone benefits. What happened
with Aankhen was that unfortunately a lot of my scenes
and my role were cut off. The film had gotten too long.
Mine was the romantic lead and a crucial song was cut
as well. Initially I was so disheartened because you
give so much of your time, your energy to a role only
to wonder why the director gave you a raw deal, but
then the movie is a hit and at the end of the day that
is what matters.
Which are your forthcoming films?
There is one film that is coming out in a couple of
months. It’s called Dil Hai Tumhara with Preity Zinta.
I’m playing a nerdy kind of guy, a comic character,
but its one of those films where there are times when
you think you are doing something different and then
you are all excited while doing it, yet when you see
the final rushes you wonder oh my God should I have
really done this? So I’m trying to prepare my fans in
advance ... this character has no remote resemblance
to me as a person. There is however a film Dil Ka Rishta
with Aishwarya Rai, which is a lovely soft romantic
film, written by her mother and I am excited about it
and of course with Rajiv Rai, I’m doing an action film
Asambhav that’s totally up my league
--Kavita Chhibber Narula
..- End Of Article.....
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