EXCLUSIVE | 'Delhi Belly' actor Kunaal Roy Kapoor on actors being stereotyped: 'Tomorrow, it will be very difficult to see Tiger Shroff in a comic role and...'

Back in 2002, Fardeen Khan and Amrita Arora starred in this romantic drama called Kitne Door Kitne Paas. Destiny brought chalk and cheese together. They met, drifted apart, and then the inevitable happy ending. 23 years later, director Ajay Bhuyan has made a show called Thode Door Thode Paas, starring Pankaj Kapur, Mona Singh, Kunal Roy Kapur, Ayesha Kaduskar, Sartaj Singh, Gurpreet Saini.

And in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Kunaal spoke about stepping into this role that’s both fun and frustrating, battling the stereotypical roles of comedy that come his way, and how 2025 turned out to be for him as an actor.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How would you describe 2025 as an actor?

I have been doing a lot of work. Hopefully all the releases will happen soon. Earlier next year, I have another release on another platform. It is a series and another season of a show. I also have a film, which I hope releases in January. It’s been a busy year but all the work will come out soon.

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You play a numerologist in the show. How was your prep like?

If I will accept one crore for a digital detox is something that I don’t know. But I could relate to the problems in the show. Maybe a little more and I will be more greedy. This is a problem that we all face in our lives. I have children as well. We all are on our phones all the time despite living in the same house. We all are in our own bubbles. I was definitely able to relate to the context of the show.

Social media is now a medium for monetary mechanism. Is it easy to detach yourself from it?

It has become like a bribe now. It’s inviting us so that it pays us. But on social media you actually get more toxic and get paid more money. I have to say that the temptation is there. But this happens because you can see the benefits in it. But you also have to look into the fact how your mental make up is, who you are. I am working towards being better at reaching out and interacting more with people. It’s just a name. Sometimes you have no idea who you are interacting with. You don’t want to be fake in that case.

What do you have to say about the way actors are stereotyped in the industry after their success?

I am still getting stereotyped, I am mostly getting comedies to do. I knew Delhi Belly would be good when I read it. This is because the script was very strong. The cast, the aesthetics, Ram Sampath’s music, the way it was looking, I knew it will definitely have an impact. Any actor who has broken through a particular genre, for instance action, we say he is an action hero. Tomorrow it will be very difficult to see Tiger Shroff in a comic role. You want to see him in action, you want to see him dance.

It is also difficult for a comic actor to play a serial killer. You don’t want to toy with the audience too much. I am just happy about the fact that there were a couple of breakout films that gave me a career. I will be fine doing comedy for the rest of my life. I have no issue with it as long as I keep acting because this is something that tends to happen.