Actor Arjun Sarja is all set to be seen in Blast, the directorial debut of Subhash K Raj, gearing up for release this Friday. The actor, who will be sharing screen with Abhirami and Preity Mukhundhan, is now promoting the film through various interviews.

In one such interview with SS Music, Arjun revealed that he initially rejected director Shankar's debut film, Gentleman (1993). When asked why, he explained that he was very angry with the industry at the film.

He said, "I first said no to Gentleman. I was very angry with the industry then. I had directed two films before that, Sevagan and Prathap. I went through a lot of hardships for that, as no production house or director came forward to help me. In retrospect, I now realise they had no reason to help me. Now I understand that cinema is a business where people bet on the active horse rather than the limping one. But back then I was angry, despite giving a hit, because of the hardships."

Arjun continued that he was rejecting all scripts that came to him at the time. "Gentleman came after all this. After my directorials became a hit, I said no to many films, as I was confident of making my own films. Audiences received my films with love." But Shankar's persistent efforts made him rethink. "But despite declining the film many times, Shankar kept approaching me with the script wherever he saw me. Due to his persistence, I wanted to respect a fellow technician and decided to reject the film after listening to the story," he shared.

On what made him change his mind, he elaborated, "Eventually, we met at a hotel, where he narrated the story to me. I was of the mindset to say no. But I wondered how to reject a story that was so good. I realised I would be a fool to decline it. The film ended up making history and giving me a further boost as an actor."

Also starring Madhubala, Subhashri, MN Nambiar, Manorama, Goundamani, Senthil, Charan Raj, Vineeth, and Rajan P Dev, Gentleman was a major commercial success, running for over 175 days after its release. Arjun stars as a businessman from Madras who, using his second identity as a thief, steals from the affluent to help educate the poor. Gentleman won four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Actor and Best Director.