Arjun Kapoor, who’s rediscovering his love for basketball, tells us why everybody needs to be healthy
Upala KBR (DNA; March 13, 2016)
Arjun Kapoor was an overweight child, but today, that’s a thing of the past. While he’s still a foodie and loves binging sometimes, he makes sure that he works off the extra calories the next day. Now, he’s training in basketball for his next film Half Girlfriend and he loves it. The actor tells us about his newfound passion for the game and why fitness is so important to him today.
You play a basketball player in your next film.
I played basketball in school — from the third to the ninth standard. I wasn’t the most mobile player as I was fat, so I used to play in the center as I had the ability to block, rebound and be good at defence, and that is what I was trained for. I was one of the taller kids in school and now the irony is that I am playing a national-level basketball player in my next film, Half Girlfriend. The good part is that when you play a sport as a kid, it stays with your system — the basics at least do, so when I stepped on to the basketball court for the first time after years, I didn’t feel lost. I didn’t feel scared. Otherwise to learn a sport from the beginning can be a daunting task. So I am glad that I chose basketball as a kid because it’s come in handy today. I am getting to play the sports that I played as a kid!
Are you taking any training for this?
Basketball is something I enjoy. I have an excellent coach and I play every night to sharpen my basics. It’s a different kind of training, thought-process, etc. I have been improving my long range shooting, my passing, dribbling — all the elements required as I have to dribble the ball. Naturally it’s more taxing. Since I never played that position in school it’s been a challenge learning the process and I love it. You just have to switch mentally into a different gear when you get a film. At least it happens to me. I wanted to enjoy the experience, so I pushed myself three months earlier to ensure that I looked my best. Half Girlfriend is also that kind of film which has taken that thought in my head that I need to push it up a gear. It’s inspiring material for an actor.
You are an actor playing a sportsperson. How fit did you need to become?
Certain roles are not about the physicality of the character or the transformation but about the emotions or connect. Some actors just have the innate ability to play a genre better than others. Being physically fit is extremely important in all aspects of life. The common man should not think that being fit is only for actors and sportspersons, everyone needs to be fit. The definition of fitness for an actor is that he should be malleable enough to fit into many characters. Therefore more than his stamina, it’s about the frame. For an athlete, it’s more about stamina, speed, building muscularity so an actor has to be ready to become an athlete if need be or be a regular guy if need be. He needs to be smack in between.
How important is it for women to be fit?
It’s very important. Forget the profession, if you want children, you need to be fit and healthy. It’s not only about fitness outside and how you are looking physically, but inside too. Like the way you eat, sleep, the conditions you live in, lack of sleep, extra stress. All that can have a lot of impact on your fitness internally. Women go through so many more hormonal issues than men. You need to be extra sensitive towards the diet, sleep pattern, medication, not eating certain things because it causes issues — these are also important aspects of fitness and is not just about going to the gym. That’s a very big layer which contributes to women’s fitness without them realising that if they can do that much also it can have a big bearing on a change happening in their lifestyle. A lot of importance is given to going to the gym and physical activity, but lifestyle is also very important like how to be stress-free, detox because that goes a long way in having a family. When you touch 30, suddenly the stress gets to you and takes a toll on the body. So, I hope fitness is also about the lifestyle, diet and the habits.