Arbaaz confesses: 'I have learnt a lot from life'

'When you are involved in a relationship and get married, why do you do that? To have a happy life together, right?'
'Not for arguments and divorce.'
'We face challenges at every stage of life.'

Arbaaz Khan feels he is shifting to the second phase of his career.

The roles that comes his way now, he feels, will be of the mature kind, and perhaps that's what we can expect from his new film, Jack And Dil.

The actor, who is often spotted with his Italian girlfriend Giorgia Andriani, declares he is in a good phase now.

"This is a transition phase for me, where I am trying to making changes in my life, in my physical health, in my mental health and in my professional life," Arbaaz tells Patcy N/ Rediff.com.

What kind of scripts are being offered to you these days?

I have been around for a long time so the writers and directors offer me roles accordingly.

Every actor goes through a transition.

When you are younger, you get college-goer roles, teenager roles... as you grow older, you get different kinds.

I play a husband who has neglected himself (in Jack And Dil). It's a story about how the romance dies.

In a new relationship, we make a lot of effort, but when our goals are achieved -- marriage, children -- the romance dies.

Which part of the story appealed to you?

The story is simple and beautiful.

You don't want to be a part of masala entertainment all the time.

You also want to be in a film which is touching and sensitive.

I don't want to play just negative characters or the hero.

I want to play different characters where you can express yourself as an actor.

I can't sit at home and wait for a particular kind of film to be offered to me.

I have to constantly hone my craft and show it to the audience.

Some films will work, some won't.

We hope for the best.

What made you work with Sachin Karande, the director of Jack And Dil?

It was a gut feeling.

When I made Dabangg, I was not going to produce it.

That boy (Abhinav Kashyap) came to me and narrated the story for a role.

I liked it and said I want to produce it.

I was not sure it would become a hit, but I had a gut feeling, so I did it.

When you are involved in a relationship and get married, why do you do that? To have a happy life together, right?

Not for arguments and divorce.

We face challenges at every stage of life.

Are you in a happy space now?

This is a transition phase for me where I am trying to making changes in my life, in my physical health, in my mental health and in my professional life.

My family and friends are helping me to be in a better space.

I am fortunate that I have good people around me.

Did you put on weight for this role?

Yes, that was the requirement of the film because my character becomes complacent after his marriage and does not take care of his health.

I had to gain four, five kilos, but when I look at myself, I get shocked.

Now, I am losing weight and taking care of myself.

I have learnt a lot from life and have changed myself.

I should have made these changes before, but everything happens according to the times.

People are complimenting me and saying I look 10 years younger -- not that I will get college going roles!

But I will get roles according to my age. (Amitabh) Bachchansaab is still working.

What roles are you comfortable in?

I have done comedy with Priyadarshan (Hulchul, Malamaal Weekly, Bhagam Bhag, Dhol).

In the films made by my family, I have mainly done comedy (Hello Brother, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya, Ready and the Dabangg films).

I started my career with negative roles, and did about 15 films.

Then, I did hero roles.

Sometimes I get surprised when certain kinds of roles are offered to me. I ask the director if he really sees my in such a role. When they sound confident, I sign up.

Paresh Rawal, Shatruji (Shatrughan Sinha) and Amrishji (Puri) started their careers with negative roles and then shifted to positive and light-hearted roles.

I am in that transition phase.

I am slowly shifting to the second phase of my career.

What has been keeping you busy?

I am taking time off to work on Dabangg 3. Hopefully, we will start early next year.

I have been busy with events and endorsements.

Last year, I had four releases (Kittu Unnadu Jagratha, Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai, Tera Intezaar, Red Affair).

This year also I have some films.

But your films aren't doing well.

My job is to work till the time I am getting work.

There are so many actors who stop getting work after their first film or after a couple of years.

I am fortunate that I debuted in 1996 (with Daraar) and 22 years later, I am still getting work.

I have done about 65 to 70 films in my career.

I get a lot of offers and I do three-four films a year.

For me, the length of the role is not important; the strength is.

I never put conditions that my role should be bigger because I know that if I have to survive as an actor, I should do the roles people want to see me in.

If I think I will only do hero roles, I may have to sit at home.

The first two Dabangg movies fared well. Do you feel pressure for the third installment?

There is no point in taking unnecessary ricks in life.

If you work without pressure, you will do good work.

There is no formula for a hit film, except hard work.

How can you feel pressure about a film that will release after a year-and-a-half? We don't know what the market will be then or the political environment.

So many films will release in between.

We cannot anticipate anything.

Will you produce a Web series?

Yes. At the same time, I am the type who will not take too much on my plate.

Today, if I want, I can announce three films. I have the resources. But I don't have that much mental and physical capacity to give so much time to it.

I would be doing injustice to them.

Is it easy to approach you for a film since you come from such an influential film family?

Why not? I am very approachable to film-makers.

And I make my decisions quickly because I don't want to keep anyone on hold. People take three to six months just to say no to a film!

I meet new directors and listen to their scripts.

What is your stand on #MeToo?

Any kind of exploitation of women in the workplace or anywhere is not acceptable.

Any kind of force exhibited on anybody is not acceptable.

There should be justice for these women.

I support this movement and all those exploited should get justice.

At the same time, it should not be misused. People should not use it for their agendas.

People are not waiting to listen to the other side of the story. They directly give a verdict, and this harms lives. People have stopped working with them.

Any offence like murder or cheating has its punishment, and after that, the person comes out of jail and tries to rebuild his life. But here, we are doing a social boycott forever.

We don't know if the person admits his mistake or pleads guilty and asks for forgiveness. Therefore, I don't know what the fallout will be.

People are taking decisions too fast.

Some people are back-tracking from what they said, so were they lying before?

If yes, there should be a law to punish those who were lying.

I am completely for this movement, but it should not be one-sided.

This movement has become a tsunami.

The punishment for everything -- like sexual misconduct, molestation, inappropriate behaviour and rape -- should be different, right?

Text messages cannot be the same as touching, right?

But we are punishing everybody the same way.

We have to differentiate and give different punishments.