2003–2014: Early work, acting debut and breakthrough

Kapoor's first job in the film industry was as an assistant director on Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Naa Ho in 2003.^[16] He also assisted Advani on his next directorial Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love (2007), and worked as an associate producer on two of his father's productions—No Entry (2005) and Wanted (2009).^[16] Kapoor was then signed on for a three-film contract with Yash Raj Films, a leading production company in India.^[17]

In 2011, it was announced that Kapoor will debut with a film named Virus Diwan, produced under Yash Raj Films, which was shelved after sometime. Later, he signed on to debut with the company's romantic drama Ishaqzaade (2012) alongside Parineeti Chopra, which tells the love story between a son and daughter of a Hindu and Muslim political family, respectively. While filming a running sequence for the feature in Barabanki, Kapoor suffered a spasm in his hamstring muscle, though he finished the scene after resting for five minutes.^[18] The film grossed over ₹46 crore (US$5.8 million) at the domestic box office, and was termed a super hit by Box Office India.^[19] His performance earned him the Zee Cine Award for Best Male Debut and nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut and the IIFA Award for Star Debut of the Year – Male.

Yash Raj Films' next project to star Kapoor was the action thriller Aurangzeb (2013) whose title matches the name of a Mughal emperor of the same name. Marking the directorial debut of Atul Sabharwal, it co-starred Jackie Shroff, Rishi Kapoor and Amrita Singh; he portrayed two estranged twin brothers, Ajay and Vishal, who end up in each other's places as part of a huge conspiracy to overthrow their biological father's empire. Critic Rachna Saltz from The New York Times said of Kapoor that he is a "star of an earlier generation" and is "well-cast and matched".^[20] However, the film underperformed at the box office.

For his first film in 2014, Kapoor teamed with Yash Raj Films for the third consecutive time on Gunday, a crime action film also starring Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra and Irrfan Khan. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, it saw him and Singh portray two bandits with bold attitude, in love with a dancer (Chopra). He described his character as "temperamental" who acts as a "moment's heat".^[21] Film analyst Anupama Chopra mentioned the film as an "unabashed love letter to the 1970s". Gunday proved to be a commercial success, and accumulated over ₹1.2 billion (US$15 million) worldwide.^[22]

As his three-film deal with Yash Raj Films concluded, Kapoor next collaborated with the producers Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar to star opposite Alia Bhatt in a film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's popular novel 2 States, released with the same title. He played Krish Malhotra, an IIM Ahmedabad MBA student wanting to become a writer. Saurabh Dwivedi stated that Kapoor "shows his pain through body language, but falls short in some scenes opposite his co-actor Ronit Roy". The project was well appreciated, garnering critical acclaim, and earned more than ₹1.75 billion (US$22 million) worldwide to emerge as his biggest commercial success so far. He received a nomination for the IIFA Award for Best Actor.^[23] His last release of 2014 was the Homi Adajania's adventurous satire Finding Fanny, which co-starred Deepika Padukone, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Pankaj Kapur and the movie follows the lives of five dysfunctional people in search of a titular woman.^[24]

2015–present: Downfalls

In 2015, Kapoor featured in his father's second younger brother Sanjay's first production Tevar, a remake of the Telugu film Okkadu (2003), in which he co-starred alongside Sonakshi Sinha and Manoj Bajpayee as a Kabaddi player. He was director Amit Sharma's only choice to play the role.^{[citation needed]} Upon release, the film was poorly received both critically and commercially.^[25]

In 2016, Kapoor served as the host for the seventh season of Colors TV's reality stunts-performing series Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi. In the same year, he starred opposite Kareena Kapoor Khan in R. Balki's satirical comedy-drama Ki & Ka, based on the content of gender stereotypes. Kapoor portrayed the male lead Kabir Bansal, a stay-at-home husband. Writing for India Today, Ananya Bhattacharya gave the film a negative review and wrote that Kapoor "looks like a mouthing sharp".^[26] Nonetheless, the film received mixed reviews and emerged as a commercial success grossing ₹1.03 billion.^[27]

The Mohit Suri-directed teen romantic drama Half Girlfriend was Kapoor's first film appearance of 2017, which served as a retelling of Bhagat's novel of the same name. He was cast in the role of Madhav Jha, a basketball champion who hardly speaks English and ends up getting attracted towards a college girl (played by Shraddha Kapoor) when he joins a college. In an interview, Kapoor admitted that he signed the film despite not reading the novel. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews and emerged as a below average grosser at the box office.^[28][29] Later that year, Kapoor played twin brothers for the second time in Mubarakan, a comedy directed by Anees Bazmee, in which he starred alongside his uncle Anil Kapoor. The film also featured Ileana D'Cruz and Athiya Shetty as the love interests of his characters. In her review, Saibal Chatterjee wrote that Kapoor "demonstrates a comic flair that is crying out for a better film".

In 2018, Kapoor starred in a spin-off to the romantic comedy Namastey London (2007), named Namaste England, helmed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. He played a man who falls in love with an aspiring jewelry designer played by Parineeti Chopra, reuniting with the actress after Ishaqzaade. The film proved to be a major box-office disaster, and Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV concluded his scathing review of the film with a note stating, "Seriously, one more film of this quality and the careers of Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor could be in grave jeopardy. Hopefully, these two young actors know better."^[30]

2019 was yet another disappointing year in Kapoor's career, as the two films he starred in were major commercial failures again. In his first release, the crime drama India's Most Wanted directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, he essayed the role of an agent who is given a secret mission of tracking a terrorist. His next screen appearance occurred in Ashutosh Gowarikar's big-budget period drama Panipat alongside Sanjay Dutt and Kriti Sanon. Based on the 3rd Panipat battle, it featured him as Maratha emperor Sadashiv Rao Bhau and depicted how Bhau fought the battle against the Afghan warrior Ahmed Shah Abdali.^[31]

2021, 2022 and 2023 proved to be disappointing years in Kapoor's career, as the films he starred in were generally commercial failures yet again, except his OTT releases. His first appearance in the black comedy-drama Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar, which marked his third collaboration with Parineeti Chopra, which was released on 19 March.^[32][33] His second appearance in Kaashvie Nair's Sardar Ka Grandson in which he was paired opposite Rakul Preet Singh. His third appearance in the horror comedy film Bhoot Police co-starring Saif Ali Khan, Jacqueline Fernandez & Yami Gautam. Both of his movies were released on 18 May and 10 September on Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar.^[34][35][36] In 2022, his only release in Mohit Suri's Ek Villain Returns with John Abraham, Disha Patani and Tara Sutaria, it was released on 29 July.^[37][38] In 2023, his first appearance in Aasmaan Bharadwaj's directorial debut Kuttey alongside Tabu, Radhika Madan and Naseeruddin Shah was released on 13 January. His second appearance in The Lady Killer alongside Bhumi Pednekar was released on 3 November.

As of November 2023, Kapoor will be seen in the comedy Meri Patni Ka Remake opposite Rakul Preet Singh and Bhumi Pednekar once again.

Films

Television

Music videos