Janmashtami 2018: Arjun Kapoor-Parineeti Chopra celebrate Shri Krishna Janmashtami with gusto

Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor will romance each other on screen six years after their first outing, Ishaqzaade. They may be pairing up after a long time, but the duo seems to be making up for it by doing two films back-to-back  — Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s Namaste England and Dibakar Banerjee’s Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar. Since the former hits the screens first, the actors are gearing up to promote their romcom. And what better occasion than the auspicious festival of Janmashtami! Here, Parineeti, who grew up in Ambala and Arjun, a Mumbaikar, talk about the festival, their memories associated with it, their friendship and more.   

What are your memories of celebrating Janmashtami in your hometown?

PARINEETI: In the North, we celebrate Diwali, Dussehra, Lohri, Holi and Janmashtami in a big way. For Janmashtami, I used to visit the mandir jahaan bhagwan ko jhoola jhulate the aur doodh pilate the. I loved going there with my parents and brother. We would go at 1 am, take milk in small bottles and sing songs the whole night. It used to be a school holiday the next day. The best part of the festival was going to the temple at night. They are lovely memories.

ARJUN: In Mumbai, we have dahi handi. I remember we used to have a half- day at school and that too because we used to celebrate it there. While returning at around 10.30 am, we would see the festivities begin. I think, visually, it’s the most appealing festival in Mumbai and in a strange way, youthful, too. Now, as an actor, I have travelled across cities and I see, it has become an adventure sport fest, with prizes for various things like how fast they break the handi, how many attempts they make, etc. But it brings people from various age groups together, which is what a festival does ­­‑‑‑ bring people from different communities together.

Arjun, were you ever tempted to be a part of the pyramid to break the handi?   

ARJUN: If you had seen my size then, you wouldn’t have asked this question! If I would have got onto somebody, uska dahi ban jaata aur woh life mein dahi handi nahin celebrate kar paata. So, to protect other people’s necks, shoulders and backs, I had to sacrifice my dahi handi celebration. But I used to have a handi of dahi at home to celebrate. 

PARINEETI: (Laughs) I knew he would say that.

You both have been friends for six years now, but when you met, what was your first impression about each other?

ARJUN: She was in awe of me, ‘Wow, what a guy!’  

PARINEETI: I met him in 2011, when he was a nobody and the same goes for me, I was not an actor then. We have known each other since our first film together, everything associated with our journey and ups and downs. If you see our friendship now, you won’t believe that initially, we never got along. I thought he didn’t talk, was khadoos and always in a bad mood. But when I got to know him, I discovered that he is anything but that. He is one of the funniest and nicest guys I know. Ten minutes with him and he will leave you in splits.

ARJUN: Parineeti used to laugh even when I said serious things. Actually, she would just say ‘Lol’. I would tell her, why don’t you just laugh ­— ye kaunsi pagal ladki hai jo ‘Lol’ bolti hai. I thought there was something wrong, but I had no choice, as we were doing the film together, so we managed. Ishaqzaade was my first film, but she had already faced the camera for Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. So, she was more relaxed during the prep. This is not to take away her hard work. I was in an more emotionally vulnerable state as my mother had cancer and her therapy was underway. So, I took time to warm up to her. But we became comfortable with each other within a week. It was a difficult film; we had to look out for each other and make life simpler, which we did. Now, I am not worried ki kya sochegi? There’s nothing hidden, there are no agendas. There’s an honesty between us, which comes from doing our first film together and that has translated nicely in Namaste England.

Ishaqzaade was a hit and your pairing was liked, so why did it take so long for you to team up for another film?

ARJUN: We did not get a script that both of us would have wanted to do together. We can’t do a film only because log pairing bhool jayenge, jaldi se karo. Kitne pairs aise aake chale gaye, they don’t have that equity. Not that we wanted to wait for six years to do a film.

But when you pair up again, you are doing two back-to-back films, Namaste England and Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar...

ARJUN: Yes, but both are completely different. 

Namaste England is a quintessential romance. 

Ishaqzaade didn’t have that. It was a brief romance and more about the trials and tribulations of wanting to be together, a more realistic take on heartland India. 

Namaste England is more of a celebration of Hindi cinema — boy meets girl, they fall in love, yearn for each other, their special moments in between, song and dance, conflict, being apart -— it has all the things a love story entails. It will make you smile and also bring a lump to your throat. It has the residue of our personalities. It’s too early to talk about Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, but in that we hate each other. All I can say is that we are not repeating ourselves. 

Is there any quality that annoys you about the other?

PARINEETI: Sometimes, Arjun is too nice a guy. He doesn’t know when to say no or draw the line and people take advantage of that. Also, he doesn’t smile that much though he is one of the most hilarious guys in the world. He is disconnected from people and it takes me 10 days to understand what is going on even though I know him so well. But now I get his pulse faster.

ARJUN: Lambi list hai! You’ll have to do another interview for that. She overthinks even while taking simple decisions. She keeps weighing the pros and cons so much that it stops her from enjoying herself. On screen, she is spontaneous, but off screen, she is not. Most of the time she keeps herself aloof, she is timid and scared. She is a gharelu type of girl, too simple. But now after having gone on world tours, she is having more fun and is relaxed.