Arjun Rampal, who has been basking in the success of Dhurandhar franchise, has opened up about one of the most difficult periods of his life, revealing how the breakdown of his marriage with Mehr Jesia, the loss of loved ones, and personal struggles pushed him towards deep introspection and healing.Speaking to Sohini on Cancelled to Crown, Arjun reflected on what he describes as the “darkest phase” of his life and explained how losing almost everything forced him to reconnect with himself.
‘My marriage was not working out’
When asked about the loneliest period of his life, Arjun clarified that loneliness was not about being physically alone but about being disconnected from himself.“I think the loneliest I have ever felt is when I was not connected with myself the way I am today,” he said.Opening up about the personal turmoil he was facing at the time, the actor shared, “My marriage was not working out and it’s sad because I think love is not constant. Everything in life is not constant. We are not constant, we are constantly changing and sometimes in that change one doesn’t grow or change well together.”Arjun admitted that the period was particularly challenging because it coincided with several personal losses.“I think that was maybe the darkest phase of my life because at that point in time was exactly the time my mom had cancer and I was losing her. I was losing everybody who was close to me. I had lost my father three years before that. I was losing friends. I was losing everything that I had worked so hard to get,” he said.
‘When you lose everything, there’s only one thing left — pure introspection’
The actor said the experience forced him to look inward instead of searching for answers elsewhere.“When you lose everything, there’s only one thing that is left in front of you and that is pure introspection. You can’t do anything, you have to go back within yourself and understand what have you become, why has this happened, what are your faults,” he explained.Arjun stressed the importance of taking accountability instead of blaming others during difficult times.“You can’t blame. If you blame, you are going to become even more miserable because you are using that as a crutch to not introspect honestly. You’re victimising yourself. But you can’t do that,” he said.According to him, real growth comes from acknowledging one’s own mistakes.“You got to be strong enough to pick it up and say, yes, these are the parts where I was flawed, these are the parts where I was careless, these are the parts where I was insensitive, these were the parts where I went wrong and now I’m going to fix it.”
Gabriella became his ‘strong anchor’
Arjun also credited partner Gabriella Demetriades for helping him navigate the difficult phase.“I was very lucky because I got somebody like Gabriella into my life who I think was a very strong anchor and was also coming from a space of maybe a lot of darkness as well.”He added that both of them faced challenges together and emerged stronger.“So we both were in the storm and we had to, like I said, weather it. But it’s good, we got to weather it together and then the blessings came.”
‘When the sun rose again, I got Arik’
The actor became emotional while recalling how life gradually changed after that difficult period.“When the sun rose again, even though my mom passed, I got Arik. And that was great joy, was a blessing,” he shared.Arjun concluded by saying that the experience led to a complete transformation in his outlook towards life.“We had done a complete 180 change with us on our lives, of certain ways and creating habits.”
