Arjun Kapoor says he wanted to do Kapoor & Sons, still teases Shakun Batra: ‘Tune Arjun Kapoor ko nahi liya but…’

Arjun Kapoor said that he was keen on doing Kapoor & Sons, and even called up director Shakun Batra but it did not work out. He wanted to play the role of the closeted gay novelist, which was eventually done by Fawad Khan.

Incidentally, Fawad Khan was not the first choice for Kapoor & Sons. The role was turned down by as many as six actors before him and at one point, producer Karan Johar even considered shelving the film.

During a Clubhouse session moderated by Janice Sequeira and Aniruddha Guha, Arjun Kapoor revealed that he was interested in Kapoor & Sons, and even made a call to director Shakun Batra when he was facing casting trouble.

“Not a lot of people know this but I can confess this now here. I had called up Shakun Batra when Kapoor & Sons was stuck for a while and I had said I would want to do Kapoor & Sons. At that point of time, obviously, Shakun didn’t see the casting hitting the spot,” Arjun said, adding, “I wanted to play Fawad’s role. I knew they were getting stuck with that.”

Arjun said that he keeps teasing Shakun about not casting him but using his name in the film. “I was never offered the film, I had just heard that the film was being cast but it was not proving to be an easy exercise. And I know Shakun personally, so I called him up and said, ‘I would love to read and I feel I can play that role also. I have no qualms about playing either/or, wherever you see me fit, but I would like to work with you.’ I keep making fun of him, ‘Tune Arjun Kapoor ko nahi liya but Arjun Kapoor ka naam le liya (You didn’t take Arjun Kapoor in your film but you took Arjun Kapoor’s name).’ Because Sidharth Malhotra ended up being called Arjun Kapoor in the film,” he said.

Kapoor & Sons, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt and Fawad Khan, is about two estranged brothers who return to their dysfunctional family in Coonoor after their grandfather has a heart attack. The film was a critical and commercial success.