Aditya Roy Kapur, who recently made his OTT debut with The Night Manager, will soon be seen in a double role for the first time in Vardhan Ketkar’s thriller film Gumraah. It also stars Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy and Vedika Pinto. Gumraah will release in theatres on April 7. The Free Press Journal caught up with Aditya for an exclusive conversation. Excerpts:
Do you believe that The Night Manager has stamped you as an actor?
The response of the show has been very overwhelming. Everyone’s taken it in a big way. It feels so nice. I never saw the original version. When I was offered the role in the Indian adaptation, I saw the original show and I felt that it had so much potential to be adapted. Our writers have done quite well a job on it. They have made it feel very organic to India and Bangladesh. I am really happy that we could pull it off.
Have people changed towards you after all the appreciation you have garnered?
I don’t know whether they have changed towards me or not. What’s really nice to see is that a variety of people have watched the show, not just the niche audience. I am getting positive feedback from everywhere. For me to do such kind of a role, people should also write such kind of roles. The show had a tone which I haven’t gotten a chance to explore theatrically. It felt good.
You are playing a double role in Gumraah for the first time. Which character are you close to in real life, Ronnie or Arjun?
I think I am a mix of both. I am just not the good guy (laughs). In fact, Ronnie isn’t an out-and-out bad guy in the film. He has a good heart, but it was fun to play an edgy guy. Both my characters are written differently on paper so it felt different while shooting them. I feel half of the actor’s job is done if the writer writes it well.
Go on…
Like before signing any other project, I felt a little nervous but I knew I was in safe hands. But once I signed Gumraah, I thought, now I had to perform and that was a bigger challenge. There were no apprehensions about doing a double role but we were very restricted. So, we had to work a lot on styling, dialect, etc. for both, Ronnie and Arjun. I think with time, I have learned to declutter.
Since the very beginning, you have been typecast as a romantic actor but with Rashtra Kavach Om, The Night Manager and now Gumraah, your image has changed completely. Your thoughts?
For me, I just want to continue with my work that pushes my envelope as an actor. The only goal for everyone here is to make an entertaining film. I don’t sit or plan about my career moves. I don’t think that things are too complicated but yes, they are tricky. I don’t want to repeat myself on-screen. Malang (2020) gave me that taste of action-thriller films and I want to do more of them. I have the physicality too and I feel it’s about time.
Irrespective of the box office numbers of your films, you always have social acceptance and fan following. How does that feel?
I learned a lot on the sets of Rashtra Kavach Om but validation is something we all want as actors. I consider myself to be in a position somewhat where I can choose my roles. Since Malang, Ludo (2020), things have been good. I am in a happy space at the moment and hopefully Gumraah keeps it going.
