Arjun RampalBasking in the success of the Dhurandhar franchise, he has opened up about one of the most difficult periods in his life, revealing how the breakdown of his marriage to Mehr Jesia, loss of loved ones and personal struggles prompted deep introspection and healing.Speaking on Sohini Canceled 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 didn’t work out”
When asked about the loneliest period in his life, Arjun clarified that loneliness was not about being physically alone, but disconnection from himself.“I think the loneliest I’ve ever felt was that I wasn’t connected to myself the way I am today,” she said.Opening up about the personal turmoil she was going through at the time, the actress shared: “My marriage didn’t go well and it’s sad because I think love is not constant. Everything in life is not constant. We’re not constant, we’re constantly changing and sometimes in that change we don’t grow or change well together.”Arjun admitted that the period was particularly difficult as it coincided with several personal losses.“I think that was probably the darkest phase of my life because at that moment my mother had cancer and I was losing her. I was losing everyone I was close to. I lost my father three years earlier. I was losing friends. I was losing everything I had worked hard for,” he said.
“When you lose everything, there’s only one thing left: pure introspection”
The actor said the experience forced him to look within instead of looking elsewhere for answers.“When you lose everything, there is only one thing left in front of you and that is pure introspection. You can’t do anything, you have to go back inside and understand what you have become, why this happened, what are your mistakes,” he explained.Arjun stressed the importance of taking responsibility in difficult times instead of blaming others.“You can’t blame. If you blame, you’re going to be even more miserable because you’re using that as a crutch to honestly internalize. You’re victimizing yourself. But you can’t do that,” he said.According to him, real growth comes from admitting one’s faults.“You have to be strong enough to pick it up and say, yes, these are the parts where I was wrong, these are the parts where I was careless, these are the parts that were insensitive, these are the parts that I did wrong and now I’m going to fix it.”
Gabriella became his “strong anchor”.
Arjun also credited his partner Gabriella Demetriades for helping him navigate the difficult phase.“I was very lucky to have someone like Gabriella in my life, who I think was a very strong anchor and also maybe coming from a very dark space.”He added that they both faced challenges together and came out stronger.“So we were both in the storm and, like I said, we had to weather it. But it’s good, the blessings came after we weathered it together.”
‘When the sun came out again, I got Ari’
The actor became emotional as he recalled how life gradually changed after that difficult time.“When the sun came out again, even though my mother passed, I got Ari. And that was a great joy, it was a blessing,” he shared.Arjun concluded by saying that the experience brought about a complete transformation in his outlook on life.“We made a complete change in our lives, creating certain ways and habits.”
