With his action drama Blast set to release this Friday, actor Arjun Sarja has been making the promotional rounds and has dropped a fascinating piece of film history along the way. In a conversation with SS Music, Arjun revealed that he had initially turned down director Shankar's debut film Gentleman (1993), not once but multiple times.

At the time, Arjun was nursing a deep frustration with the industry following the hardships he faced directing his own films, Sevagan and Prathap. Despite delivering hits, no production house or director extended a helping hand. "Cinema is a business where people bet on the active horse rather than the limping one," he reflected, adding that he only understood this in hindsight. Riding on the success of his directorials, he was turning down most scripts that came his way and Gentleman was no different.

What changed was Shankar's sheer persistence. The director kept approaching Arjun with the script at every opportunity, refusing to take no for an answer. Arjun eventually agreed to hear the story out of respect for a fellow technician, fully intending to decline it politely. The story, however, had other plans. "I wondered how to reject a story that was so good. I realised I would be a fool to decline it," he said.

Gentleman went on to become a landmark commercial success, running for over 175 days and winning four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards including Best Actor and Best Director. The film featured Arjun as a Madras businessman who moonlights as a thief, stealing from the rich to fund education for the poor, alongside a cast that included Madhubala, Goundamani, Senthil, and MN Nambiar among others.

Arjun is next seen in Blast, alongside Abhirami and Preity Mukhundhan, directed by debutant Subhash K Raj.