EXCLUSIVE: Kunaal Roy Kapur on size perception in Bollywood: It’s sad, haven’t seen large obese people get leading roles

Kunaal Roy Kapur is known for his adorable persona that complement his acting skills. The actor has been a part of some renowned films like Delhi Belly, Nautanki Saala and Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani. Last month, he made his foray into the music video world with Nia Sharma in Hairaan, where he played a cheated lover and recently, he got into an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble where he spoke about the video, his career and the industry. Read excerpts from the interview with Kunaal Roy Kapur here:

You played a cheated lover in Hairaan. Have you faced heartbreak in real life as well?

“I faced something similar in childhood so I knew how to relate to that pain. It’s not like she ran away with my money like in the video because I didn’t even have money at that time, but my heart did break. And that heartbreak everyone understands and even I knew that emotion well. The best thing about the video is that it has a story and it is portrayed efficiently.”

“I never thought anybody would be interested in casting me in a music video in the first place. The characters you see there are larger-than-life, dancing, very beautiful and attractive, and I am a simple looking guy. Since it was a story based video, it kind of worked out. There is a space for everyone today.”

 

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How was it working with Nia?

“It was great. I only met her once in passing before. I have seen her work because I know one of her co-actors quite well. I was used to watching her in the longer format but she has this amazing energy about her, she is always willing to go that extra mile to get that extra shot. I got my final look in the video because her reaction was so good.”

 

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Today there are so many avenues like OTT and music videos that accepts people in all shape and form based on their talent. But do you think if you had started your career earlier than you actually did, things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did?

“If you look at our old films, a lot of our actors were very average looking. We made them into stars because of the characters they played. That has always been there. We have had stars who have been villains, comedians, character actors and even some of our leading men and women have been average looking people. But it’s the persona they put on screen that made them stars.

One of my first breakthrough films was Delhi Belly and I needed to play someone who is extremely unpleasant to look at. Matlab aankhein jal jayein use dekhke. So, there is definitely a space for different kind of actors.”

 

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You have never shied away from talking about your weight and your transformation. But do you think the industry has accepted you in those terms?

“I think so. I don’t think it has ever been that I have been too fat for a role. I don’t think that was ever a concern and that is commendable. In every industry, people are accepted in all sizes. I think the pressure on leading men and women is more to look a certain way. For someone playing supporting characters, I don’t think it’s of as much concern. The pressure on leading faces is more, especially here, but I see it as something that will evolve. Physicality is one thing but characters are defined by other things as well.”

 

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You belong to a family where both your brothers have made a mark of their own with Siddharth Roy Kapur as a successful producer and Aditya Roy Kapur as a renowned actor. When will we see the three of you working together?

“People say never say never, but we are all on our own journeys and we have our own set of connections and relationships in the industry that we made through the years. If an opportunity comes, we might be up for it but by and large, we are not working towards it.”

 

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With you, Siddharth, Aditya and your sister-in-law Vidya Balan having such successful careers in the industry, how do the table discussions go like in your family?

“We talk about films, shows and what we are watching, but we also mostly talk about random things like aaj daal kaisi bani. Things that are discussed within families and generally it is always food related because we all are big foodies.”

 

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You had once said in a interview that the industry don’t see large people as leading men, have you seen that view changing in today’s times?

“I think so especially with the OTT platform. There is a general acceptance that size doesn’t matter but I haven’t seen really large obese people getting leading roles and it’s sad because I think it doesn’t matter what your size is. But I guess there are the right stories for that as well and after a point, physicality does determine what might limit that character. So, sometimes it becomes an issue what stories you can tell with people who are very large. It might be limited because the tone of the story might change. So, if you are doing an action film with a very large person, then automatically the audience would see it as an action comedy rather than pure action. But those are the hurdles that people will slowly start crossing.”

Also Read: Nia Sharma and Kunaal Roy Kapur leave fans ‘Hairaan’ as they are set to collaborate for a music video