The Wild Card!
Why are you not on any social networking sites?
It is just something I am not on... I am not on Facebook, I am not on Twitter, I am not on any social networking sites because I cannot constantly keep portraying - it is who I am and social networking is not a big part of my life.
For someone who didn't even try... Anyone seeing you at work will know the kind of effort you put into your films, however there seems to be an unconventional streak that highlights your persona...
To be honest with you, I have never consciously tried to be unconventional, even the nature of y roles weren't... would you call ACTION REPLAYY unconventional? Or LONDON DREAMS? Aashiqui 2 was utmost convention. It is perhaps the way I do them that makes it quirky, I don't know. Initially, I thought I would only be doing different cinema but I ended up doing only commercial stuff and I found good joy in it.
Your being quirky perhaps has something to do with the fact that you didn't train, didn't go through the whole routine...
Oh you mean, Action bhi aata hai, dance bhi aata hai' type? As I said, my only training has been in front of camera. For ACTION REPLAYY Vipul (Shah) made me take some diction classes because my Hindi was terrible. Believe me, all through my first few films I was not even paying attention to what I was saying; I would just be glad that my dialogues were over! I also did some 20-25 days of dance classes...
Given that you almost come from a film family, all this training should have started as a child...
Where film family? Seriously, though my grandfather did produce films, by the time I was born unfortunately he was no more and even much before that, the whole film phase was history. As for my mother, yes she did a film but it was never really talked about at home. Yes, performance and art always was a part of our family. Both Siddharth and Kunal were a lot into theatre; I am not so much. In fact, I remember my mother used to come to my school to direct plays for children and she would give me this small part- I think that was the only time I used influence to get a part, but at that time it was important, it amounted to bunking school!!!
But you know, talking about my grandfather, just recently Siddharth and we were looking at his old diaries, you know all his accounts and meetings used to be penned there and he was visiting all the same places that Siddharth is now visiting as a producer - 5 pm meeting at famous studio'! How we have come full circle as a film family'!
Jokes apart, don't you feel left out when your colleagues, who hail from film families, talk about Hindi films?
It is not like I don't know what they are talking about. I know exactly who did which film but it is just that I don't have that emotional connect with those films. I grew up watching Jackie Chan, Van Damme films, Bruce Wiles films... I was very big on action films... so my emotional connect was with Van Damme!
Emotional connect with Jean-Claude Van Damme?
(Laughing) I might be the only one to have a emotional connect with Van Damme! God you will make me sound like an idiot! But you know what I mean...
We know, it was not that cool to be watching Hindi cinema once...
My friends from Xavier's are all like, "Roy, what the hell are you doing, bro?" I guess I was one of them... but I have come around. Frankly, my team at Channel V too couldn't imagine I had taken to being a film actor. I guess my perspective changed...
As did that of your contemporaries... From being a supporting actor, you are now their competition...
This change per se is interesting. I think I was always looked upon as someone whom people didn't know what to make of. I was a bit of a wild card... "Is he too urbane? Is he too anglicized? Will he do the song and dance routine?" I did my waiting, until I felt that I should just go out there and do some more work, out of sight out of mind... That's when the whole YEH JAWAANI HAI DEEWANI thing happened and AASHIQUI 2... As I mentioned I had my own doubts about my capabilities because I've been learning on the job. AASHIQUI gave me the confidence that I could do it. So if others had a preconceived notion about me, I don't blame them...I had my own doubts! It is only now that I know how emancipating acting can be, how intricate nuances can be... Believe me when I say, when you are out there enacting different lives you get a whole new perspective about your own self, an also of course about people in general.
While that might be a good thing, fans are certainly the best aspect, won't you say?
It is amazing, you cannot imagine how amazing it really is, and unfortunately you tend to take it for granted! The other day I was with my friend and was going to this place I go very often and I was a little down and so was he. We were both walking like a two brooders and this guy comes up and says "I am a big fan, I really appreciate your work"... I said "Thanks, man" but thought who gets this? In the middle of a bad day, someone walks up to you and gives you appreciation, I love you and love your work, keep it up'... I was in great mood later, that's the power of it... You can perceive it any way you please but the fact is that you have to let it in. There is so much of this that happens that my reaction to it is almost rehearsed. 'thank you so much', but it is very tough to actually take in what everyone is saying and they are all saying good things, but all our reactions have become too rehearsed..."Thank you, thank you, thank you" with that smile plastered on our faces... I tell myself, shit! Why am I being rehearsed? I am not meaning to be impolite or impersonal! But then sometimes it just hits you... you realize it is very big, it is very personal and that I am very lucky to get it.
And with all these fans comes the whole pressure of acting 'star' like...
The lifestyle is definitely part of it all, I am not fighting it. I am just not as involved as I guess one becomes. I know if I am going to wear a torn T-shirt, people are going to say, 'Aditya is bloody looking homeless', but where's the harm in being fairly well decked out? You automatically carry yourself in a certain way when you know people are going to be watching you. And people are always looking... Even if I am going out with my school friends, I know that there are 20 people looking and that's what you live with... you don't fight it, else you will go crazy, you will become a recluse, so it is best to bask in it. I am not planning on living in cave and no, it is not a put on, it is human nature. If there's room of people looking at you, you'll walk a little straighter...
So I guess, being star-like for me is making sure I am not wearing a crumpled T-shirt and shorts to the airport, now I wear shoes! So it's getting there, in at least some things I feel better about myself...
Are you someone who notices the mirror?
Yeah, I do...I notice the mirror... I am very conscious of it most of the time but there are phases when I just let go. I am not constantly vain.
Aditya Roy Kapur is not constantly vain, so who is Aditya truly?
I guess I am a go-with-the-flow kind of person but I don't necessarily like that... I would like to be more of a 'Seize the day' kind of person. I love what I am doing now, but there is so much more to me... I love music, I love the guitar and I would love to compose someday. Maybe if I was a 'Seize the day' sort, I would have done much more. It needn't be more money spinning thing but just more productive. What I hate is fostering regret. I don't like to be my own enemy!
Source: CineBlitz
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