As soon as we are introduced to Arjun Kapoor, the new host of Khatron Ke Khiladi starts humming ‘Tomar monta diye jao taara taari...’ from Gunday. Shooting for that film had kept him in Calcutta for weeks in the winter of 2013. “Mera kuch hai naataa purana… Calcutta is one of my favourite cities in the world,” is how the Bolly hunk starts the chat. Over the next few minutes at Villa 69 in Juhu, Arjun vrooms on about Season 7 of the Colors show and his gender-bender April 1 film Ki and Ka...
When are you coming to Calcutta?
I love Calcutta because I have the best memories in the world there. I had the best filming experience for Gunday there. I look forward to going back for the promotions of Ki and Ka. I will obviously go to the t2 office... that should be fun!
With you on board, Khatron Ke Khiladi has become younger...
(Cuts in) And I am getting older! (Laughs) The contestants were always of an age which is worthy of doing physically challenging stunts. The youth connect was always there. Now this time with the host, there is a youth dynamic too. The show has an in-built format. With me, it will add a little more fun than just being a stunt-based show. There will be humour and an entertainment quotient rather than being disciplinarian because I am not worthy of having command or respect. I haven’t done anything in my life except five films. It’s better to have camaraderie and enjoy.
How was it shooting in Arjuntina, er, Argentina?
It was fun! I had set a benchmark for what I can achieve by being a host to drive up the entertainment quotient. The channel had a prerequisite of what they expected from me and I wanted to surpass that. So I had to challenge myself. I was quite excited because, for me, it was a kind of rediscovery of Arjun Kapoor.
So you had no clue that you are the adventurous kind?
I didn’t know! I understood ki achha mujhe darr nahin lagta hai! Agar darr lagta bhi hai toh I can overcome it. It is not that fear gets the better of me....
Is KKK more about mental than physical?
It’s only mental. I think this show is about mental people doing mental things. When you do something like this, you will have doubts. So mentally you need to be focused to make a decision that you can’t back out. On this show, all are winners because they have come and tested their fears. They can tell these stories for the rest of their lives. It’s mentally draining, but it’s amazing.
How will you counter obvious comparisons with earlier KKK hosts Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Rohit Shetty?
Mindsets are changing and the philosophy of comparison is fading away. Each person is treated individually. If I replicate, I will fall. They are very big stars in their own right. I have to create my own equity with the audience. But I did speak with Rohit Sir when I signed the show. He was very happy. He told me to have an amazing time.
Who’s the ultimate ‘khatron ka khiladi’?
Abhi ke liye toh main hi hoon! Iss saal ke liye toh confirmed main hi hoon (laughs).
How did your sisters Anshula, Sonam and Rhea react to you hosting Khatron...?
I didn’t tell much about the show to my sisters. I didn’t want them to say, ‘No, you can’t do this!’
And your Ki and Ka co-star Kareena Kapoor?
(Smiles) Kareena saw the promos. She has been encouraging and supportive.
Ki and Ka seems like a very different kind of film...
Ki and Ka deals with how society, even in our country, has started evolving. I think people deserve to be given a chance to do what they want on merit of capability rather than race, gender, creed and certain other biases. The film is a light-hearted take that says that if a woman is capable of being ambitious and if she is being worthy of taking that upon herself to be the breadwinner of the family and the man is secure enough, there should be no reason for society to have an opinion about it. He (his character Kabir) always wanted to be a homemaker. If they are comfortable with it, then it is nobody else’s business. It also deals with the thought — ‘Tum ladka thodi naa ho ki kaam karogi?... Tum ladki ki tarah ghar mein baithna chahte ho?’ I think that has changed. The film speaks about all those things that are bubbling under for a while. These are conversations that happen behind closed doors in society. Hopefully, the film will incite conversations and connect with the audience. It will give an insight that a man doesn’t need to feel insecure.
Can you be like that in your own life?
I am an ambitious person. The character I am playing is not ambitious. He believes that housewives are artistes. Housewives sacrifice and wake up before everybody. The boy believes that housewives don’t get their due. He is an IIM graduate. He is not insecure. She (Kia, played by Kareena) loves him for that. They love each other and there’s no ego between them. They are unique. It is just the society that takes time to understand them.... I made my film sound so heavy (smiles). It’s a bloody funny film. You will see me grocery shopping, making breakfast, telling her ‘Ajee suntey ho’, enjoying kitty parties with the aunties and firing the maid for not coming on time!
Gossip from the Argentina sets
• Mahhi Vij came alone for the launch, without husband and co-contestant Jay Bhanushali, thus raising a few of eyebrows. Apparently, Jay and Mahhi had a serious cat fight in Argentina because of Jay’s closeness to leggy lass Parvathy Omanakuttan.
• Hockey player Yuvraj Walmiki had pulled out every trick in the book to woo Kuch Kuch Hota Hai girl Sana Saeed throughout the show. Even at the launch, he came up with the predictably cheesy line: ‘Sana, tumhein dekh kar kuch kuch hota hai!” Her response? A pretty cold ‘Thank you very much.’
• After pack-up in Argentina, Sidharth Shukla’s room used to be the party pad for the contestants, with everyone letting their hair down till late.
What: The launch of Colors’ Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 7, a reality show in which contestants face their worst fears... from jumping off a skyscraper to swallowing a cockroach.
Where: Villa 69 in Mumbai. The popular Juhu hangout was decked out like a jungle with faux snakes and artificial insects hanging and crawling down from the ceiling!
Five fun moments from the Khatron Ke Khiladi 7 launch
1. Host Arjun Kapoor kept pulling contestant Sana Saeed’s leg. His take on her little black net dress: “Kamaal ke kapde pehne ho mosquito net ki tarah!”
2. Arjun revealed that TV hunks Himmanshoo Malhotra and Sidharth Shukla were like “aunties” who gossiped the whole day on set. Sidharth, who starred with Alia Bhatt in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania, loves doing hatke stuff and so he didn’t think twice when he was offered the show. “Sid was never serious. Pehli baar kisi ne meri bhi bolti bandh kar di thi,” piped in the young host.
3. Arjun didn’t let go of any opportunity to flirt with model “Paro” aka Parvathy Omanakuttan. “Main deny nahin karta ke main flirt karta hoon,” grinned Arjun. To this, the leggy lass replied, “Arjun bahut hot lag rahe ho!”
4. TV hunk Vivan Bhatena is a man of few words, but he more than made up by flaunting his washboard abs on stage. #Swoon
5. When Mahhi Vij was asked about her experience on the show, she said, “Mujhe baarbaar phone nahin karna padhta tha ke Jay (husband and co-contestant) kya kar raha hai....” So are those rumours of Jay straying true?
Ratnalekha Mazumdar