Anil Kapoor: Jhakas at 35

Actor Anil Kapoor has completed 35 years in Bollywood and claims that he is living his dream every day as part of the showbiz industry. He started his journey with Telugu film Vamsa Vruksham and after doing some films in south Indian film industry, he debuted in Hindi cinema as a lead actor with Woh Saat Din in 1983. Recognised as the most bankable star of the commercial Hindi films of the 90s, Anil Kapoor was appreciated for his acting prowess in Mashaal, Saheb, Parinda, Chameli Ki Shaadi and Virasat. The actor-producer became popular across the shores as well after Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire where he played a game show host and the American TV series 24. He was also seen in Tom Cruise’s actioner Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol. In an interview to news agency PTI, Anil Kapoor said, being an “obedient student of cinema” has helped him in staying relevant even after three decades.

“I think it is a combination of choices that has worked for me like luck, directors and family. At the right time, right scripts and directors came to me and I made right choices and then my family.”

The 61-year-old actor says he joined films because he was passionate about his craft and it was never his dream to be number one or make a lot of money. “When I sleep in the night, I only dream of doing different characters. I have never dreamt that I should be the biggest star of the country or have a lot of money. This has never been my aim. I want to make people smile and cry,” Anil Kapoor said.

Kapoor’s first acting job was at the age of 14, when he played the role of a young Shashi Kapoor in Tu Payal Mein Geet. The film did not make it to the big screen, but the actor says he was not disheartened.

The actor said he tried to get admission in Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) but that was not to be. “I have always been a very optimistic person. I see everything positively. I have never been disillusioned. The only time I was disillusioned and was a little down was when I failed in the Pune Institute. I cried,” he recalled during the interview.

But Kapoor soon gathered himself and decided to join Roshan Taneja’s acting school. “All kind of training is good. I think you should keep on training yourself. If I get an opportunity to do something now, (I will do it). It’s my dream to keep doing courses to learn something. When I started my career, I used to keep doing workshops. I had dialect coaches for my films, who would help me improve myself,” he said. “There are certain things that still connect with the audience like jhakaas or the popular song Aye Jee, Oo Jee or Mr India, the film. It feels great that my work has left an impact on the audiences. I feel lucky and fortunate,” he quipped.

Even though he was having a great run at the box office with commercial potboilers, Kapoor decided to pick unconventional stories like Parinda, Eeshwar, Virasat and Pukar. “All these movies have not done well commercially. Certain movies that I have done are out of the box but have not done well. But people do appreciate my work in these movies and that’s fine,” he said. “I used my stardom to do these kinds of roles. I risked my stardom to help producers to sell their films. I have constantly given my stardom so that I can offer something new and different,” he added.

Anil Kapoor now wants to learn more languages, improve his dialogue delivery and work with new directors. Age, after all, is just a number and journey of life offers new beginnings at every juncture.

With agency inputs