Arshad Warsi: People deserted me when my films weren’t doing well at the box-office

Actor Arshad Warsi opens up on how the industry people want to be ‘friends’ with you only till your films work at the box-office.

Arshad Warsi has been doing what an actor must do — experiment with roles and genres, for he knows that films come and go and some work, some don’t. Irada, the thriller that Arshad starred in this year might have failed to leave a mark, but the comedy, Golmaal Again — a genre that the 49-year-old aces — has come as a respite from his long dry run. Arshad’s last hit film was Jolly LLB (2013).

Actor Arshad Warsi’s latest comedy film Golmaal Again is doing well at the box-office.

The actor is in a happy space, but constantly reminds himself that in Bollywood, fate changes every Friday, often turning friends into foes. “What happens is that an actor finally ends up being a commodity— as long as it works, people want to be connected to it, if it doesn’t, then not,” he says.

And the actor has experienced the dark, selfish side of the industry. Arshad says, “In the phase where my films were doing well, I’d enter a party and would immediately be surrounded by a lot of people. Later, when they (films) started flopping, there would be a vacuum when I went to any such event — no one would be there around me.”

He, however, considers himself lucky to have been able to forge tight bonds with some select people. “Like Subhash Kapoor (with whom Arshad worked in Jolly LLB), Rajkumar Hirani, Aditi Rao Hydari, Vidya Balan, Huma Qureshi, Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) and Kabir Khan. They are always there for me, whether I’m doing well or not,” says Arshad.

Did the failures at the box office these last couple of years affect the actor in him? “They didn’t affect me much. I have been here (in the Hindi film industry) for too long. I have proved my capability to everyone — my fans and critics. I am glad that today, if a film of mine doesn’t do well, I’m not blamed for it. At least I did my job well. Of course, you want every film of yours to do well, but success and failures both shouldn’t affect a person,” he says.

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