Now I like my life calm: Arjun Rampal on turning 46

By Subhash K. Jha

Mumbai, Nov 26 (IANS) There's no noisy birthday party for Arjun Rampal, who turned 46 on Sunday. The actor says he has walked enough on the "wild side" and prefers a calm life with a "rock-steady family life and an adventurous career".

"It's just around 30 close friends, meeting up having a good time together. Nothing else," Arjun said of his party plans.

"After you reach a certain age, you no longer want to indulge in wild parties. You just want to be with close family and friends. I've seen enough of that life. I've walked on the wild side. Now I like my life calm. Spending time with my wife and two daughters gives me a bigger high than anything else," he added.

At 46, what are Arjun's thoughts on his life and life according to Bollywood's rules?

"Do I have to be reminded of my age? But seriously, I couldn't have asked for more. I've a rock-steady family life and a career that is known for being adventurous. As far as the film industry is concerned, I see a lot of intolerance within the industry and from outside the film industry towards actors, filmmakers and our work.

"This is very frightening. We must stop pre-judging art before the artiste puts forward his idea to the public."

On the career front, Arjun's last release was his ambitious biopic on Arun Gawli.

"'Daddy' got me what I wanted. It was meant to be a reasonably-budgeted film showing us a side to Gawli not seen before. My performance was appreciated. Everybody went home happy."

Arjun's next release is J.P. Dutta's "Paltan", a war movie which the actor is thoroughly enjoying shooting.

"It's my first time with J.P. Dutta and also my first war movie. I've always enjoyed films of that genre, especially J.P. saab's 'Refugee' and 'Border'. I am glad to be in one," he added.

After that, Arjun goes into a film called "Nastik", which as the name tells, is about an atheist.

"In real life too I don't believe in God. I believe in worshipping the Universe. The film has an interesting script and the director Shailesh Varma is very talented. It is important to work with the new enthusiastic talent. That's the only way to take the industry forward."