Aditya Roy Kapur’s roller-coaster career has seen quite a few ups with films such as Aashiqui, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Daawat-e-Ishq and Dear Zindagi as well as downs with films such as Kalank, Fitoor and Ok Jaanu.  He is set to bounce back with three films this year: Mohit Suri’s Malang, Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak 2 and Anurag Basu’s Ludo. On the personal front too there have been marriage rumours with model Diva Dhawan. But Kapur strongly denies any news about tying the knot. “I am single. I have no girlfriend. I have a great female fan-following if that’s what you are implying by the question,” he asserts.  

His previous films have not done well at the box office, but how does he keep innovating himself?  “It has to be there in the script offered to me. If there’s something different and new for an actor it automatically becomes innovative and keeps you going,” he says, adding,  “At the same time, competition is necessary too. I would be bored if I see myself on screen all the time. I grew up watching other actors, and love seeing different styles of acting. I see a great performance and am inspired by them. I constantly want to learn. There is so much work happening that there is no sense of ‘I wish I had what he had’. Ultimately what others have will come to you as well. It’s all a matter of time.” 

On working with director Mohit Suri with the recently released film Malang, he says, “It was a physically demanding film. I had two looks in the film which required me to be fit in both so I had to go from fit to fitter. You don’t get to eat and you have to shoot in the scorching sun as it was required for the character. I had to transform myself in the midst of the film as I had to be really thin for the Goa part and later I had to bulk up. That took a toll on me.”

Touted as love story, Malang is a high action powered movie and Kapur says he’s grown up watching actions films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and Van Damme. On the kind of roles he would like to do, Kapur says, “We want to do things that we don’t see people doing in real life. I don’t think films should be made only to give messages. It has to be fun and entertainment. As an actor you want to keep exploring yourself, pushing yourself, be ready to adapt to all kinds of roles. Every director and producer has a new style as an actor; my job is to adapt to each one of them. I look at it as a challenge. I don’t look on to any genre in particular,” says the 34-year-old.

Kapur, who shares screen space with Anil Kapoor in Malang for the first time, says, Anil’s “energy was infectious on the sets.” He goes on to add, “He is someone who has been there for so long in the profession and still wants to give it his best. He is constantly trying to improve the scene. When an actor is a veteran from the industry there is often a wall between the director and the actor. He didn’t let any wall be created in the sets and kept asking Mohit [Suri] ‘what do you want me to do?’ And that was so surprising to see a veteran actor asking for instructions.” 

Malang’s poster, which shows Kapur lifting Disha Patani, has been much spoken about by fans and critics. The actor says, “I had to lift Disha Patani and she is fit and not that heavy. That pose was not complicated or tough for me. It would be embarrassing if I could not carry her weight on my shoulders. It was difficult for her but she is fit and works on her flexibility hence she could do it. She was the one who had the tough job to bend. I am quite a supportive co-actor, so I helped her.”