(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Alia bhatt and arjun kapoor might be relatively new to bollywood but with their choice of author-backed roles they have proved they are more than just the standard ?bollywood kids?
Arjun kapoor and alia bhatt at the khaleej times office as part of the promotional drive for 2 states organised by essar events
We’ll be the first to admit that bollywood movie promotional drives can get repetative but as arjun kapoor and alia bhatt who stepped into our office to talk up their new movie 2 states show the camaraderie between two stars can at times make for an enjoyable afternoon chat
Alia bhatt and arjun kapoor might be relatively new to bollywood but with their choice of author-backed roles they have proved they are more than just the standard ‘bollywood kids’. since making her debut with student of the year (2012) alia has gone on to become a much sought after face especially among younger fans. her performance in imtiaz ali’s highway was much talked about and appreciated by the critics. just twenty-one years of age and two films old in the industry alia has managed to wow many including karan johar who treats her like his protégé. on the other hand arjun kapoor made a forceful debut with ishaqzaade (2012) following it up with a double performance in aurangzeb (2013) and gunday (2014) garnering good response from the box-office.
The young stars were in dubai on thursday to promote their latest project together 2 states and dropped into the khaleej times office in the afternoon.
While their chemistry has been the talk of the industry both of them were quick to deny reports of dating each other when we asked them point-blank if they were indeed seeing each other as reported in various sections of the media. here we bring you an excerpt from their conversation with city times.
Is it an advantage to promote a movie with a co-star you get along with so well considering movie promotions can get tedious at times?
Arjun: for actors promoting movies gets a bit repetitive. it is part of our job but its nice to promote it with a co star who you get along very well with. otherwise it would be a nightmare to spend time with someone you do not get along with.... i have done just four films so far and i have been lucky because i have gotten along with all my co-stars so far.
Alia: (interrupts) no not each and every one...
Arjun: okay ninety per cent. (asks alia) who i have not gotten along with? ...you?
Alia whispers something into his ears
Arjun: she clearly knows more than me!
Alia whispers again to arjun. arjun: oh that i did not even remember that. it’s been so long. but generally i have made friends with all my co-stars.
Both of you come often to dubai to promote your movies. what does this city mean to you?
Arjun: dubai is like a second home to me. i came for diff (dubai international film festival) then for the premiere of gunday and in between for a restaurant opening. i have been coming to dubai more often than going back home from shoots! it feels nice to come here.Alia how much has life changed for you since your last film highway?
Alia: i am pretty much the same but now when i talk to people i feel they take me a bit more seriously. as a human being and as an actor. earlier people would ask me stuff like “what colour do you like?” “what food do you eat?” but not much about acting.
Arjun alia was shooting for highway and 2 states simultaneously so did you see any change in her during that period?
Arjun: i was having fun shooting the larger than life film gunday and she was having an intense time shooting highway. she was suddenly travelling all over india and realising that life is more than just what we have experienced.
Alia: he has still not seen the film so he does not really know what i actually experienced.
Arjun: but i understood you as a person because for me ishaqzaade was that. i have not lived in a small town. i haven’t really travelled much in interiors and met those kinds of people. i know how life changing it can be to go and just disappear. i connected to it but i did not have to vocalise it. so i would just hear alia because i understood what she was going through. i know films take part of you away no matter how good or bad they are. student of the year was just the realisation of this industry for her highway was a true film where she got to invest in her character and let her character take over herself. i really enjoyed watching her going through all that because it only makes you a better actor. i had worked with her on 2 states and i knew she had all the trapping to be a big star and a fantastic actor. i think highway just opened things for her. it is good she got to get on journey so early a lot of actors do not get a role like that for a long time or get karan johar to launch them or get imtiaz ali for their second film.
There’s been a lot of talk about the kiss you both share in the movie...
Arjun: the kiss does not matter in the film. in our film where the boy and girl have a live-in-relationship it is the most normal thing for two people to do. they are not brother and sister you know then how do you show love?
Alia: our film is about family. we are always around the family. in front of them we barely shake hands with each other. we are modern day people but in front of family we have our traditional values.
The film is based on the novel written by chetan bhagat. have you both read the book?Arjun: i have not read the book
Alia: i read the book long back. i was not aware that i would be portraying this character in a movie then. this is the only chetan bhagat book that i have read in fact. i remember i had felt this book should be made into film because it is such a hindi film. i fell in love with ananya’s character.Is the movie going to be a reflection of the book or are there any differences?
Alia: when i read the script for the first time i was happy. we knew certain portions would not make it to the movie because it will become lengthy. we have tried to stay as close to the book because it is such a loved book that we cannot go wrong with it. we even shot the film in iim (where some of the story is set).
Arjun: chetan was happy with the movie. when he heard one of the songs he had tears in his eyes because it was his story at the end of the day.
This film talks about cultural differences between two families. alia your family is multi-cultural right?
Alia: we are a confused family! we do not know where all we come from. i know i am an indian with a british passport. my mother is half german half kashimiri. my dad is gujarati muslim but apparently i have learnt there is a certain russian element to it as well...
Arjun: she is as global as you can get.
Alia after your first film we hear went through this phase where you thought you would end up being a one-film wonder. how did you come out of it?
Arjun: by going on the highway!
Alia: i have this very big fear of failure. even in school sometimes i would not want to run races because i did not want to lose. i always wanted to come first or second. i once came fourth and i cried for the longest time. i have had a huge feeling that i would be one-film-wonder though i did not actually feel it would be true. i just wanted to set expectations really low. but eventually those feelings started creeping in for real. after student of the year i felt lost. what brought me back was imtiaz ali’s highway. i kept thinking why would he want me do such a difficult role because i don’t think i was even close to being a good actor or an actor in any sense. i was just a face but he took that face and turned it into an actor.
Arjun do you think male actors are facing tougher competition in the industry right now considering there are the khans and a newer bunch who are talented and doing great work as well?
Arjun: it would be naïve on our part to compare ourselves with the khans because they have worked for twenty odd years. i am in my second year. we are grateful that we are getting work despite them being on top of the game. where my contemporaries are concerned the way i look at it is we are still very nascent in our career and our choices. after five-seven years our work will define us. like today ranbir kapoor is a bona fide star because five years of his work has consistently defined him. audience knows that if ranbir is there in a film it will be a good film. i don’t feel any one of my contemporaries have built that one-on-one rapport with the audience as yet. they will look at a film before us. so today we should not even look at competing with each other. we need to work creatively. i always believe there does not have to be one two and three numbering. it is a creative field. more the merrier. competition is tough because the bar is rising. when ranbir does barfi! or yeh jawani hai deewani or when shahid does kaminey we feel this is mindblowing.
It is interesting to see that most of the current lot of young actors are friends.
Arjun: i knew deepika padukone from when she was dating ranbir kapoor. my equation with her is there since then. i know siddharth malhotra because varun (dhawan) is my friend and i did my acting class along with him i was very happy that his film student of the year did well. i met him at a party the other night and we danced together on our songs. i think it is also farcical beyond a point i mean how much can you put up with not liking someone? we just do our work hang out and go home.
(pointing towards alia) alia is not friends with anyone (laughs) she did not react to my answer.So what is it alia that you do not like about arjun?
Arjun: so many things. she gets irritated the way i curl my hair and the fact that i work too much.
Alia: what i love most about him is that he is not outwardly vocal about his support and friendship. his action speaks louder than words. he is not fake. he does not have to constantly say something to mean it. he is really funny on good days. now i have spent so much of time with him that he is cracking too many bad jokes.
Arjun: you cannot keep a hundred per cent ratio twenty-four hours yaar...
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