"I was supposed to assist Homi on 'Being Cyrus' but I fell ill. He had impressed me as a director, but I couldn't see myself in the world he had visualised. One reason was that he came to me with an English film when I was still trying to establish myself as a Hindi film actor," recalls Arjun, sitting in the suite of a five star hotel.
He allowed himself to be carried along by the director's confidence and conviction and admits that when he saw Savio on screen, he could see a lot of himself in him-from the vulnerability to the pain and angst which came from personal experience. "I guess Homi saw me in the character much before I did," he says.
The pain comes from losing his mother, Mona Kapoor, when he was poised on the threshold of stardom. "She stood by me when I was struggling to lose weight, never once telling me I didn't have it in me to be an actor. She had watched me shoot 'Ishqzaade', saw the first trailer, then, knowing I was going the right way, she went away. She shattered my backbone, leaving behind a big hole. I try to fill the vacuum with work and small joys but it's hard," he admits, eyes glistening with unshed tears.
A man is drawn towards a woman who reminds him of his mother but Arjun insists he's not attracted to any one 'type'. "It's important for me to have a conversation with the lady that lasts beyond five minutes. It could be about films, travel, life, even the weather. I like to listen and talk," he says.
A statement of his on a recent chat show, "I lost weight to get laid"--has gone viral, but Arjun argues that it was just a joke taken out of contest. "Yes, earlier, it was difficult to get female attention. Even during 'Ishaqzaade', Aditya Chopra advised me to focus on my performance because I wasn't conventionally good looking. Over the last two years, it's gotten easier. But I don't know if the women are falling for me as a person or the characters I portray," he says, unabashedly admitting that he craves the comfort of compan ionship, "All of us want someone in our lives with whom we can interact on a personal level, I'm no different."
Buzz is, he got possessive about Alia Bhatt. Arjun laughs off the rumour, "I may get emotionally attached to someone, but I don't think I'd get possessive or obsessive about someone. I didn't know Alia before 2 States. She's an amazing girl but now she's busy with Shaandar in London while I'm busy with Finding Fanny here. And yet these Chinese whispers continue to swirl."
