Aditya Roy Kapur gets candid with Neha Dhupia on JioSaavn #NoFilterNeha Season 5

Aditya Roy Kapur reminisces the most notorious people he’s interviewed as a VJ

There were a couple of people at that time you would always hear stories about being notoriously tough to interview. So, I know I had to interview Mr. Ram Gopal Varma, I was still quite nervous about everything and those guys don't help yaa. Back at channel V, they used to really try and intermediate me and trouble me like, ‘Listen, he’s gonna screw you haan really he’s gonna take your case if you ask him any stupid questions, don’t be like just flippant’. So I just remember they worked me into this nervous wreck but eventually he was really sweet yaa and I think maybe he saw that I was kinda nervous in the interview and he looked at me and said okay, this one’s a little, you know.

Why he moved on from VJing

You know in the first 3 years that I was a VJ, I was hosting in English because that's the language I'm most comfortable in at least talking like myself and then suddenly this whole reality show burst on the scene, and Roadies happened and reality television made its way into India. Suddenly from Hosting in English, I had this show called ‘Aditya’s Playlist’, where I used to play all kinds of stuff that I wanted like Led Zeppelin and suddenly overnight everything flipped on its head, suddenly I had to start hosting in Hindi. It was a little jarring because as a VJ, you're kind of expected to be quick-witted and funny and crazy. In the language, you’re the most comfortable in, it’s easy but when it shifted to Hindi, I was like oh shit.

Aditya’s lockdown in the middle of nowhere

I have a house outside the city and I went there with my family and I was supposed to go there for a weekend. And that Monday night or whatever the country got shut down, so I went there for 3 days and I ended up staying there for 90 days. So, the whole lockdown, I was not in Bombay I was there, on a farm, in the middle of nowhere.

Aditya talks about spending time with his family

Before I shifted out my house which was like maybe before 13-14 years ago, so, as in this is just what I needed, I have been wanting to spend more time with my parents and my brother’s kids. I would always wonder like when is that time ever gonna come because you end up going over for a weekend or for lunch, you just like scratch the surface you are not really spending time day in and day out. Even if you go for a holiday, you are kind of in that new place which is engaging you. This was just living day in and out with my parents after really long which was amazing and I couldn’t be happier.

Conversations at home

You know, growing up we were never connected to film or to the industry so growing it was never so much but now in the last 10 years the three of us have found our way into the industry. Conversations have kind of revolved a lot around film, it's always about film, politics and sport. These three things I guess is what takes up majority of what we talk about but definitely film has taken center stage in the stuff that we discuss

When Aditya’s sickness was taken as him faking it to miss school

I'm still not sure whether I faked it or not. One evening I just felt like I couldn’t move, my legs were not responding, it was a serious thing, I actually couldn't move and I felt like my legs go numb, my parents were out, they came home, like they lifted me and I fell down on the ground and this was,to be fair, in middle of the phase where I was going to extreme lengths to bunk school, so I can understand why my mom would think that this was fake. I did end up missing school for 4 months because I was in the hospital for a couple of months, it got into a really bad zone where I actually couldn't walk for a few months. So, I doubt I faked this yaa. Mom is like “sure, everyone was really tense but I was looking at you on the hospital bed and I was like this boy is faking it and I'm sure”, my dad was like what rubbish, young boy how is he gonna fake something like this. To go to that length to bunk a day of school, but I was a bit of a problem child so I guess

Aditya talks about his chemistry with his brothers

Not 4 parents, but it’s not like growing up how siblings fight and hit each other and stuff like that never happened because they were so much older than me that if they hit me, I would die. We were actually three different generations

Aditya on dating amidst lockdown

The option was never there for me because I was cut off, I couldn't even physically want to break a rule, if I wanted to like if I was in the city. It’s much easier I guess, if that temptation is not there, so that option was taken out of my hands. We’re all in this together so that gives a person some kind of solace that it’s not that its only you who is singled out and that kind of stuff.

Aditya talks about The Kapur Sunday tradition

She’s (Vidya Balan) been part of the family for so long now and I think she has got her own equation with everyone and she just fit in yaa seamlessly, I don't think it was ever a process which felt like it took any work. The thing is that none of us live together so we just get to meet on Sundays when we go to my parents’ house for lunch. That’s a tradition. My dad will cook some mutton and we just sit and stuff our faces for 3 hours straight and just have to than sit down still for a while. Yeah. And then just drive home and try and keep yourself awake while you’re driving.

Aditya gave up cricket for this reason!

The first thing was cricket, I considered myself very good. I was a left arm quick. I loved the sport, I played a lot of it but I started doing really badly in my exams and ended up having to go from tuition to tuition and cricket took a backseat so I never did follow up on that which is one of my regrets and then it became music, I wanted to kind of be involved in music. I gave up cricket because I needed to pass, I needed to pass my exams which I was struggling to do so there was no time to play cricket. I wanted to follow music. I was in a band when I was in Xavier's. I was the singer of the band, we did a couple of shows till I got kicked out of Xavier's after my first year because I didn't do well in my exams, not a good student evidently. I had lost touch with the band and then I got with job with channel V and I got to really be a part of this whole kind of music scene and that was fun, but I don't remember taking it that much forward, it was still like a vague thing that I wanted to do and then somehow this acting thing just happened to me. Once that started, it never stopped, the ball just kept rolling.

Aditya on being a girlfriend stealer. Or did he really steal Ranveer’s girlfriend?

He is just being dramatic but maybe I don't know how he felt. Me and Ranveer know each other from many moons ago, from our college days but no, if your questions is ‘Am I a girlfriend stealer?’, that's definitely not a name you can give me. He is a charming guy yaar, give him some credit. Give the credit to both of us, why it has to be one or the other. There is no great story, he was seeing a girl and then I think they broke up many months later, I think 8-10 months later and I started seeing her.

How Aditya got his first film London Dreams 

So, I was a VJ with Channel V, like we’ve spoken about. I did that from around 19 to around 23. I had done a shoot for a magazine. There was a casting director called Amita Sehgal who saw a photograph of me in Vogue. I think this is one of the first few shoots I did. So, my photo was in that magazine. I got a call, she was casting for ‘London Dreams’. Vipul Sir was making ‘London Dreams’ and she called me in and at that time I was auditioning anyway for other stuff. Audition hai toh chalo, out of guilt, like, don’t slap opportunity in its face kind of a thing and see what’s out there. And, I ended up going for this one. Luckily enough, I got the part, ya. Vipul Sir called me and said listen we’re going to London for a month and a half. You can play the guitar? I said ya, I play the guitar. So, do you want to go and shoot this film? I was like ya… I’d never really been out of the country. This was the chance to travel, to be a part of like a band in a movie and chill in London for a couple of months. I was like let’s do this. And that’s how it started.

Aditya on working with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn in his first film 

It was the time of my life that first film. It was like, we had such a blast. I was like listen, if this is what making movies is, sign me up, you know. Just the atmosphere on the set. I think, Salman Bhai and Ajay Sir, they just made us feel really comfortable and took us out and we all really had a good time together as a team. Rann (Rannvijay Singha) and me, also got along really well and were joined at the hip for the whole time. And, I just enjoyed the whole process. That was like one of my best filming experiences, ever. Not because it was the first, but also because it was really warm and Vipul Sir was amazing as well. Basically, Vipul Sir gave me my first break in the industry with that and then with ‘Action Replayy’, that followed it up. So, it is kind of ironic that after having taken the part that people think you know that I’m from a film family and have been put into this by my family, it’s actually not, not happened like that.

Here’s what Aditya feels about auditions

I think every audition has been nerve-wracking. I have never really loved, it’s something that you have to do but it’s always been really uncomfortable. Because, you have to create this reality when looking at an imaginary girl and wink at an imaginary person or whatever, So, it’s all really, really weird. And, I think a lot of people that are taking auditions don’t make it any easier because they are just like standing over there like ‘Next’. So, there’s not very much compassion also over there. Ya, I think you just have to suck it up and just do it.

Aditya on making friends in the Industry…

Ya, I think so. There are couple of actors I have kept in touch with over the years that have been friendships that have lasted. Couple of directors that I’ve kept in touch with. But, I think with directors, it’s a different kind of thing, I think, because, that friendship gets ignited when you work together. There is a closeness but there’s another fire that gets lit when there’s actually something to work towards.

Aditya speaks about working with Alia 

When you’ve worked with someone, you kind of understand their process and things were much like, much easier on this one. She’s wonderful. Obviously, she’s such a talent, really chill on set.

How he felt working after lockdown 

It actually felt really good. It’s obviously kind of, you feel nervous because you don’t know if you’re going to get corona or no, but other than that, it felt really, really good to just work. I was enjoying my dubbing. I was like shit, I have done something like legit constructive after like months and it felt good. But yes, you have to take all your precautions but it just felt good to work, honestly.

Aditya on casually roaming in the city 

Because, I love just roaming around in my city. Why should I stop that? And, see now the silver lining to this whole thing is that you have to wear a mask. See, if I was wearing a mask before this pandemic, people would be like who’s that freak? But, now, you can wear a mask and everyone can be incognito. So, in a way, actors are very happy, like, for this angle. Because you can go fully under the radar. I’m still riding my Enfield because it garners no attention. Because, if you’re on a sports bike, people will be like koi tohhai. They check and they be like okay he’s an actor, Enfield, I’m still riding. I put a mask on, I put the helmet on, I can ride where I want. No one knows shit.

Games Round 

Choose or Lose –

Interviewing or getting interviewed? – Interviewing

Playing the thoughtful artist or playing the macho man? – Macho man

Aashiqui 2 or Malang – Aashiqui 2

Motor Bikes or Fast Cars? – Motor Bike

Lockdown or locked up? – Locked up is Jail, na? So, then I would say lockdown

Single or committed? – Single

Blocking or Ghosting? – Be clear na. Blocking is at least clear

Being caught – making out in public or peeing in public?  - Peeing in public will just be wrong for me to choose. It’s just a wrong message to give out. So, I would take a hit of being caught for making out in public. Though, both have happened in life

Drinking alone or drinking with strangers? – I’d take a chance with a stranger