Since his 2012 debut with Ishaqzaade, Arjun Kapoor has spoken about his career negativity. Arjun told Raj Shamani on his podcast Figuring Out that ‘people wanted him to fail’. (See also: Arjun Kapoor says ‘last five years have been difficult for me’: I believe in love)
Arjun was asked about the pressure of starring in Singham Again with Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, and Ranveer Singh. He said, “I was thrilled when Rohit sir told me people were talking about me and recognizing my film ownership. People wanted me to fail for a long time, so it was graceful. People who are slightly critical, clickbaity, and prone to trolling saw me as an easy target.”
Arjun said a ‘lot of reactions’ were based on his ‘surname, personal life’ and ‘some of his films’ poor box office performance. “People thought I didn’t like working, didn’t care about my work, didn’t want to improve, and didn’t deserve to be an actor. Physical struggles during a significant career period, which stemmed from health issues I recently discussed, amplify this sentiment. This narrative made darts easy to throw at me.”
The actor said on the podcast that a negative review for Kuttey felt like he was being ‘personally attacked’. “I respect reviews, but I don’t respect personal attacks,” said the actor.
Recent work
Arjun struggled in recent years, with most of his films failing at the box office and with critics. Sardar Ka Grandson and Bhoot Police in 2021, Ek Villain Returns in 2022, and Kuttey and The Lady Killer in 2023 were mildly received. Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again this year saw Arjun reprise his villainous Danger Lanka role.
