After serious roles, Arjun happy to show his funny side

MUMBAI - After playing a crooked film producer in “Om Shanti “Om”, a brooding failed musician in “Rock On!” and a lame reluctant gangster in “Don”, Arjun Rampal thinks it’s high time he shed his serious image and show his funny side in multi-starrer “Housefull”.

“This is why I am mixing it all up now. I guess these movies were a great platform for me to showcase my acting talent. Having established that, I deserve to let my hair down now. Due to this I picked a film like ‘Housefull’,” Arjun told IANS.

“It was good fun to be a part of this riotous outing since it’s a genre that I haven’t ever ventured into. I wanted to do a lighter film after all the aforementioned films and I am glad I did ‘Housefull’ even though my character is still quite intense,” he added.

Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and directed by Sajid Khan, the film also stars Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani and Jiah Khan. Along with the mammoth star cast of the film, Arjun had a blast shooting for “Housefull” all over Europe through the months of July and August.

“We all had a lot of fun since the overall atmosphere was so great. Both Sajid Khan and Sajid Nadiadwala made sure that our entire stay was so comfortable and happy. I could feel an overall positive energy that was prevalent all these days.

“It was so important actually to get the right camaraderie since the film is about so many characters all thrown together in tricky comical situations,” said Arjun, who is back in town after shooting for “Housefull”, which is almost complete.

The actor has seen a huge upswing in his career over the last few years with movies like “Rock On” (2008), “Om Shanti Om” (2007) and “Don - The Chase Begins Again” (2006) bringing him critical as well as commercial success. And not to forget his performance in 2008 film “The Last Lear”.

Even though his recent release “Fox” has come and gone, Arjun has already moved on and is now looking at his future projects. With movies like Prakash Jha’s “Rajneeti” and Karan Johar’s Hindi remake of “Stepmom” under his belt, Arjun is also happy to finally have a sense of belonging in the Hindi film industry.

“I have been around since 2001 when I had three releases ‘Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat’, ‘Deewanapan and ‘Moksha: Salvation’, all arriving back to back. After almost a decade in the industry, I can now proudly say that the industry has embraced me,” the supermodel-turned actor said.

A young man from Delhi who has managed to find a slot for himself all on his own, he remembers the times when he was a complete outsider.

“At that time a person like me just wished for a sense of belonging. Believe me, it’s a lonely and tough journey and you have to slog really hard. I too learnt it all over a period of time. Today, I am happy with the work that I am getting and am finally coming into my own,” Arjun said, getting a little emotional.