Criticism can destroy you: Arjun Rampal

At 40, Arjun Rampal effortlessly betrays his age. As far as his craft is concerned, the youthful National Award-winning actor claims that he's only getting better with each passing film. In a candid chat with us, Arjun highlights some factors that drive him, his upcoming film and his colleagues.u00a0

Pic/ Pradeep Dhivar

Are there any New Year resolutions you're planning to keep?
No. Whenever I keep one, I break it even before I realise it. Every year, I just try hard to be honest to myself. If you can call that a New Year resolution, then that has to be it.

As an actor, how do you deal with criticism?
It depends on who is criticising you. Sometimes it could indeed help you better yourself. At the end of the day, criticism is an opinion of a person. If it has value, you should be open enough to absorb it. However, criticism can also be used as a weapon against you to destroy you. In such cases, it's better to discard them.

Would you say you've arrived?
I can't say anything about my work. That's others' job. Personally, I'm satisfied. To answer your question, I'd say I'm getting there. My career has been good.

What has been your high and low point in your career?
Winning the National Award for Rock On!! was the high point whereas the time period from 2001 to 2005 included a lot of low points.

And what do you look for in a script?
The first thing I ask myself before signing up is ‘Would I go and watch the film even if I weren't part of it?' and if the answer is yes, I immediately agree to the project.

How is Sudhir Mishra as a director?
He's tall, has grey hair and does yoga (laughs). On a serious note, he is a very sensitive director, an actor's filmmaker. Usually, directors come to the sets with a rigid structure in their head. Sudhir is not one of them. Given the subject it handles, the film could have been sleazy but he provided it dignity.

You're working with Chitrangada Singh for the first time…
She was initially quite confused about the film since I had spent more time with Sudhir on the script compared to her. But once she got on board and we started working together, she was just amazing. u00a0