In an exclusive interview with PeepingMoon, actor Arjun Rampal recalled his 20-year long journey in films, why he stopped modelling to act, what went wrong in his career and his early days of struggle.
Talking about his initial struggle during his transition from a supermodel to an actor, Arjun said, "Modelling and acting is completely different because in modelling you have to just look good in front of the camera but while acting you have to forget about the camera. My first film took 5 years to be made so I was stuck unemployed without any work. But it was this resilience in me that said no because I got to model, I have to be a different person and when I come to act, it requires a different skill set. So, I stopped modeling and I didn’t know how to pay my rent, I had no money. I had a dog and he used to eat nonveg and I used to eat veg and I used to look at his food look better than mine. But then I thought maybe these are the kind of sacrifices I need to make right now. That’s what I did. I had a wonderful landlord, Mr. Singh, so I didn’t pay rent for 2-3 months and he used to just say to work and have patience. He once told me ‘don’t worry, one day you’ll be a big star and pay me when you have the money’. He was very sweet."
Arjun then talked about getting work after his debut film. He said, "Then slowly I got films. Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat became my first film, it was more of a commercial film. The audience really liked me. Then I had Deewanaapan, there was Aankhein and then it all started and suddenly there was a lot of work. So, no matter how hard it is, or how difficult it becomes, listen to your heart."
On the work front, Arjun's last release was ZEE5's Nail Polish, and has opened to rave reviews.
