I want to surprise people, says Arjun Rampal

Arjun Rampal is no longer referred as a
non-actor, thanks to well-acclaimed
films like Rock On, Rajneeti and
Chakravyuh which brought his talent and
versatility to the fore.

The actor believes he has finally found
his space in the industry.

"Everybody wants to surprise people..I
too want to do that. I think films like
Rock On, Rajneeti, Chakravyuh, Inkaar
turned out to be good for me. Prakash
Jha thinks I am the most versatile actor
in the industry. I think I can never say no to him even if he has
two-three lines for
me to say in his film. And so is the case
with Abhishek Kapoor," Arjun told PTI in
an interview here.

From walking the ramp as a model to
winning a national award as an actor,
Arjun has come a long way since his
debut with Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat in
2001. In between were a string of flops
like Dil Ka Rishta, Asambhav, Yakeen and Ajnabee among others.

His breakthrough came with the remake
version of "Don". Thereafter he was part
of successful films like "Rock On" which
fetched him the national award. Then he
teamed up with filmmaker Prakash Jha
for films like Rajneeti, Chakravyuh and upcoming Satyagraha.

His latest release D Day has been
received positively.

"I think I have made a space for myself
in the industry. I think that recognition
has come... otherwise I wouldn't be
getting to play interesting parts. There is
a belief that people have in me today. I
want to create a market for myself, which will engage and entertain people;
they will not be dry and boring," the 40-
year-old actor said.

Arjun feels the time he entered the
industry was the right one, as he learnt a
lot during his ups and downs.

"It takes time when you are an outsider
and don't know industry, don't know
what works and are relying on other
people's opinion. But then you make up
your own mind as what you want to do.
I started discovering that after films like Om Shanti Om, Rock On and Rajneeti
etc.." "These are the kind of films that will
transform and become characters. These
films entertain, participate, engage
people and that for me is entertaining,"
he added.

Arjun is celebrating the success of D Day. "I am relieved. The film
took a slow start
but it was encouraging to see a great
jump over the weekend. I am looking
forward to see how the audience will
react this week as word of mouth is
extraordinary. We did have a special screening for industry people and are
getting positive response," Arjun said.

Nikhil Advani's last few films like Patiala
House, Chandni Chowk To China and
Salaam-e-Ishq bombed at the box-office
but this did not deter Arjun from
working with him. "For Nikhil, to do a film like this was a
challenge...But he was clear what he
wanted and he worked hard for it. He
took interest, gave us all the research
material," he said.