Arjun Kapoor: Now in the pandemic world, we have to look at content not the numbers

Actor Arjun Kapoor believes that while the box office collections of a film are important, they only matter from a business point of view, and not so much for actors.

That the pandemic has changed the entertainment scenario is a reality now. And even as films have started making their way to the theatres, there’s a lot of rethinking and rejigging required, feels Arjun Kapoor.

Arjun Kapoor’s film Sandeep and Pinky Farar recently hit cinemas.

The actor, whose film Sandeep and Pinky Farar recently hit the big screen, says that one of the factors that will now see a major shift, is the whole box-office number game.

“Eventually they (box office numbers) will matter. It’s a business, so you’d like to have an understanding of what numbers are coming in, so we make film of certain calibre. But do I believe that from April and May we will see the same numbers as War (2019) saw before Covid? I don’t think so. It will take a little bit of time,” he states.

The 35-year-old, whose last release was Panipat in 2019, believes that the importance attached to box-office is there because it has existed for a long time.

“Today, we’re in a new environment amid the pandemic and we’ll have to rejig our expectations and our understanding. So, rather than looking at the first day or second day, you look at the totality of the film. You look at the overall perspective; six to eight weeks after the run is over, you kind of understand how the audiences reacted to the material,” he elaborates.

Kapoor further asserts that while the numbers around a film are important, they only matter from a business side, and not so much for actors.

“It’s a good reality check for us because we’re too caught up with numbers. I don’t think actors, beyond a point, can engage in numbers because they’re very subjective. An actor can do an X amount of business in the right sort of film, and he can do an X amount in a wrong film. But that shouldn’t change the fact that he should be allowed to do what he wants to do,” says the actor.

Having said that, Kapoor admits that sometimes numbers do put pressure on the decisions and choices.

“It puts pressure on financial implications because you start believing that numbers are more important that the actual content, so in a way, they matter. But they’ll matter to people in the business. Actors will realise that numbers are very temporary, and now, in the pandemic world, we’ve to look at content and not the numbers,” concludes the actor.