Arjun Rampal opts for women-centric films as a tribute to his late mother

Speaking at a song launch for his upcoming film Dhaakad, Bollywood actor Arjun Rampal shared that he chooses to take part in women-centric films as a tribute to his mother, Gwen Rampal. The actor’s mother passed away after a battle in 2018.

According to Filmfare, the actor shared about his preferences at the event, “My mom raised me as a single parent. Whenever I get an offer for a woman-centric film, I take it up immediately. This is my way of paying homage to my mother. I know how strong she was." 

Rampal plays the antagonist in Dhaakad, starring opposite actor Kangana Ranaut. The official synopsis of the film reads, “Agni (Ranaut), a highly trained and deadly field agent, is entrusted with a mission to gather Intel and eliminate Rudraveer (Rampal), an international human and arms trafficker who has been off the radar for ten years.” The film will release later this month.

Unlike most Bollywood leading ladies, firebrand actor Ranaut does not feel like she is a victim of unequal pay when compared to her male colleagues. When asked about pay parity in a recent interview, the Queen actor shared that she does not believe she is underpaid anymore, going on to thank “all the men” who helped her in her journey to stardom.

Speaking about the low points in her career and how she refused projects with many big names of the Bollywood industry, Kanagana added,  "I have had my own fair share of lower points when I refused a lot of male-centric films, you know, Khan-led films or Kumar-led films, all kinds of big hero films.”

She continued, “I always had this vision that this [pointing towards a poster of her latest film Dhaakad] is possible. Of course, I didn't plan it, but I had the vision. I can’t execute it alone; you need somebody like [director] Razneesh Ghai and [producers] Deepak Mukut and Sohel Maklai. I’d say that for a woman to have a successful journey, so many men support her. So, it is a combination of many things."