The all-rounder Kunaal Roy Kapur impressed one and all with his hilarious yet heartening character in Bandish Bandits Season 2 in December 2024. A month later, in January 2025, he was on cloud nine as Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) re-released and did very well. He ended the month of February with Dil Dosti Aur Dogs, a heartwarming film which was released on JioHotstar. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Kunaal spoke about all these projects and a lot more.
EXCLUSIVE: Kunaal Roy Kapur talks about Dil Dosti Aur Dogs; explains why he’s not in favour of Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 2: “You don’t want to see the reality of what happens to married people”
In Dil Dosti Aur Dogs, you have shot extensively with a dog. Are you scared of it in real life?
No. I have always had a dog in my life and I am a big dog lover. Hence, When Masumeh Makhija and Viral Shah came up with this idea, I was damn excited.
Do you think this is the right time for a film like this to be out since there has been an overdose of action and big-scale films…
A film like this doesn’t need good timing. A nice, heartwaming film about pets is always welcome, especially one that shows how it brings a change in your life.
How was it to shoot with the dog?
Our dog particularly was a bit moody (laughs). We didn’t want to push too hard; there were trainers and animal rights people on the sets. So, we had strict norms to follow and we made sure not to overstress the dog. At the same time, we would expect the animal to act the way we want, like idhar dekho, udhar dekho, yahan pe aao. At times, you would be sitting for half an hour and the dog would not ‘act’ and at times, the dog would give a perfect shot in one take. Nevertheless, our dog was also very sweet and cute and it was a pleasant experience.
Dil Dosti Aur Dogs is a feel-good film and it’s fun watching such movies in cinemas and laughing collectively at funny scenes. Did you ever wish that this film would have also been released on the big screen?
I don’t think the intention ever was to bring this film to cinemas. It has now become difficult to get a film in cinemas due to the marketing cost. Now, every film is made on a certain scale and a certain budget. Hence, releasing a film in cinemas is a very difficult proposition. I am happy that it’s coming on the largest OTT platform we have in the country. The kind of reach it provides, I don’t think you’ll get it with a theatrical release. With theatres, you are always wondering how many shows you’d get or where the film will be released. You also have to fight with larger films for screens. On OTT, I have the same amount of screen space as any other film or show from around the world, regardless of their scale. Moreover, we don’t have to worry about show time; people can watch it at leisure.
Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani recently re-released and scored very well at the box office. Your character Taran has been quite loved. Often, in Hindi films, the nerdy character loses the girl to the hero but that doesn’t happen with Taran; audiences were impressed by that aspect….
Even at the time of release, I remember getting positive reactions because everybody felt that it was the right decision that she (Aditi; Kalki Koechlin’s character) had made – to have someone in life who loves her as much as she loves him. To get love back is as important as to love. The audience also got that aspect; without it, the film would have become hollow. The credit for it goes to the writers and director for making that choice. I am so happy that it was re-released and a whole generation of people are getting to see it again. It’s also heartening to see certain films that did well in their times, and are also doing well in their re-runs.
There’s a tremendous demand for a sequel to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. It’ll be interesting to see the life of Taran, Aditi, Bunny (Ranbir Kapoor), Naina (Deepika Padukone) and Avi (Aditya Roy Kapur) a decade later. Do you think it’s possible that Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani 2 will be made?
I don’t think so. Everybody is busy with their trajectory. Also, I feel that it has found a timeless quality and you don’t want to ruin that. With a romantic comedy, you don’t want to shatter any dreams. Tomorrow, if someone suggests a sequel to Notting Hill (1999) or Pretty Woman (1990), your immediate reaction would be, ‘Kyun banani hai. Nahin banani chahiye’! You don’t want to see the reality of what happens to married people (laughs).
You were also a part of Delhi Belly. (2011) It was an adult comedy and got a great response. Yet, this genre never picked up. Go Goa Gone (2013) is the only other such film from Bollywood that we can recall. Why do you think that happened?
That’s because an ‘A’ rated comedy has to be done with a certain sensibility which is in sync with today’s times. We shot Delhi Belly in 2009 and it came out in 2011. It doesn’t have anything that is derogatory to women. It is dark, tongue-in-cheek and has adult humour for sure. Yet, there’s no misogyny in it. That’s what people appreciated. When you opt for the sex comedy zone, it turns into a misogyny. It’s a fine line that filmmakers have to tread. One can do a sex comedy without patriarchy and misogyny. And we should have sex comedies but a filmmaker’s point of view needs to be mature. Viewers should be seeing it and laughing at people who are misogynist rather than laughing at misogyny. People should be like ‘Kaisa banda hai yeh’. It’s difficult to do so all the time and it’s also equally difficult to write such films.
You directed The President Is Coming (2009). Do you plan to make any more films?
I do. I just need to be fully committed to a script for more than a year. It also has to be in sync with my sensibility.
Can we expect Bandish Bandits Season 3? The second season has been loved and your character is too adorable…
There’s nothing official about the third season. But it’ll be a long process as it takes a lot of time to make the music especially. I guess it’ll be more than 3-4 years which is a bit of a dampener. Nevertheless, I am very happy with Season 2. In my opinion, it raises the bar from the first season, which is very rare. I am also happy with my character Arghya’s arc through the whole thing, being a facilitator in getting them together. A lot of people have responded to it well; they were like ‘We wish we had a person like Arghya in our lives to guide us’!
More Pages: Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Box Office Collection , Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani Movie Review
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