A decade after Rustom, Arjan Bajwa looks back at the film not only as an important project in his career but also as a moment that made him think about what it takes to build a lasting place in the industry.
For him, one of the biggest highlights was getting to work with Akshay Kumar, an actor he had admired since childhood.
“Working with Akshay sir, obviously, has been a fantastic experience. I’m a self-proclaimed biggest fan of his. I have always looked up to him,” he says.
That admiration goes back to his childhood in Delhi, when Akshay’s screen persona was already influencing him. “I remember growing up in Delhi, I used to take his pictures from Stardust and try and create his looks or copy his long hairstyle,” he recalls.
His admiration wasn’t limited to films. Watching Akshay perform martial arts also influenced him personally. “I started training for Taekwondo after seeing him doing martial arts in films,” he says.
Even years later, he continues to see Akshay as a source of inspiration, particularly for his fitness and longevity. “He has been a fitness icon, and one of the most handsome-looking men in the industry. He has always been an inspiration in every possible way,” he says.
Having worked with him on Rustom, Arjan hopes it will not be their last collaboration. “And yes, I again look forward to working with him more on many other projects,” he adds.
Looking at his own career, however, his reflections are more complicated. “If I have to go back to 2016 and advise myself on going about things differently, looking at my career or building a long-lasting career, I think there are two ways to look at it,” he says.
The first is something he believes no actor can fully control: destiny. “The biggest factor is your destiny. When that is favouring you, the time is right, things fall into place, all the work that you do, the films that you do, they all keep becoming hits,” he explains.
He says some senior members of the industry have even jokingly referred to him as a lucky mascot because of the success of several films he has been associated with.
“In that respect, there are a couple of senior people in the industry who always call me the lucky mascot because they say, ‘Arjan, whichever film you do becomes a hit,’” he says.
But he believes there is another, more practical factor that actors can actually influence: having the right team around them. According to him, Rustom gave him an important opportunity, however, he added, “I did not have a supportive team around me to market me the way they should have.”
For an actor, he believes, the work does not stop once a successful film releases. “Getting a hit film is a big factor in your career, and once you have it, you should have the right people to propel things for you in the best possible way,” he explains.
He feels the absence of that support may have cost him opportunities. “I never had that. And maybe that’s the reason I feel that a lot of good chances slipped out of my hands, which could have made things easier for me or probably enhanced my career more,” he says.
For an outsider without an established film-industry network, Arjan believes having experienced guidance can be particularly important. “In my case, whatever I have done till now is from my own learning and experiences, whether good, bad, ugly, hits or misses. I’ve always been on my own,” he says.
That experience has shaped one of his strongest beliefs about navigating Bollywood as an outsider.
He is clear that no manager or team can determine whether an actor becomes a superstar. That, in his view, comes down to destiny. But there are plenty of other aspects of a career that can be managed strategically.
“Whether one makes it into superstardom or not, that’s your destiny. But at least, from what is in your hand, how to propel your career forward, do the right films, how to market yourself, make a perception of you, that’s a job that somebody experienced beside you or a team of people that you have should be doing,” he said.
His biggest lesson from the experience is that an actor should not try to navigate the entire industry alone.
“You can’t be just a one-man army. I wish I had that support system with me from the beginning, and from 2016 onwards, I would say even more,” Arjan ended.