EXCLUSIVE: Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor reveals producers asked him to dumb down: They told me not to sound intelligent in my interviews

Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor made his debut with Mirzya and then starred in Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. In 2020, he appeared in a cameo in AK vs AK that starred his father Anil Kapoor. This year, Harsh appeared in Ray and managed to receive the recognition he was craving for all these years. In a candid chat with Bollywood Bubble, Harsh spoke about not being the usual star kid, and why being Anil Kapoor’s son works against his image, his insecurities, battling lows and failures to fighting people’s perception, and a lot more.

On his insecurities, Harsh said, “I have lots of insecurities. People have thought that I am good in my last two films. I better not be bad in my next film because they are going to rip me apart (laughs), let’s open up the scene, let’s work hard, what else can I do, am I missing something, is there a false note, can I dub something or reshoot something-all of that. I am insecure about the kind of work continuing to be in the upward trend basically. I want the growth to be consistent. When I started off I was insecure about I don’t think anybody is going to be interested in my films and the kind of work I do, what will I do then. I have never been insecure about my appearance. I have always been comfortable in my own skin with the way I like, how I choose to dress. I have never been insecure with friendships or relationships.”

He added, “My insecurities are mainly, if I am a misfit in this place, and will I find the peace and tranquility in this business, that doesn’t allow you to be peaceful in a lot of ways.”

Harsh also shared how several producers asked him to dumb down and not come across as so “intelligent in his interviews. On this, he said, “When someone comes into the industry, they are kind of naive. After Mirzya, I feel I always had my guard up a little bit. I was very open to talk and transparent and be very honest and sit down and have a normal chat. But after Mirzya I realised that I have to be a little conscious to what I say. When I sit down for an interview, I like to be honest but it’s up to the person on the other end of the interview to be able to say that ‘this guy is being honest and coming from a good place, he is confiding in me, so I also need to take care of him’. It’s a two-way street. You can’t expect somebody to open up and push them and then go and twist and turn things to kind of self-copy and make them sound like somebody they are not. That’s very immoral. Sometimes, I don’t think that people do it from a malicious place, I think it’s just a lack of understanding.”

“Also, it was also the fact that I was doing the off-beat cinema. People have so much love for Anil Kapoor, that have expectations that you have to be a certain way. As soon as you are different and embrace that individuality, it’s not going to be accepted right away. It would be naive to think that. Some producers told me that I need to sound dumb in my interviews. They told me that I come across as too intelligent and I am going to alienate the audience,” added the actor.

You can watch the full interview here.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Harshvardhan Kapoor on pressure of being Anil Kapoor’s son; ‘People just assume I’ll be a certain way’