With the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India now behind us, one
of the concluding masterclasses held on the second-last day of the festival was
a class act by the evergreen Mr India, Anil Kapoor, who was interviewed by his
daughter, entrepreneur and producer Rhea Kapoor. The actor shared stories of
his experience working on films and gave some good advice to those who are
pursuing careers in the film industry.
At a very early age, Anil Kapoor was sure that he wanted to be
an actor and wasted no time to achieve his dream. “I was a horse with my
blinkers on. From the moment I came to my senses I wanted to be an actor. I was
very fortunate to get a break in the form of a young Shashi Kapoor’s role.
Since then I have not wasted, constantly dreamt, worked on my craft and worked
on being a people’s person. But I am still a work in progress.”
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Despite not following in the footsteps of her father like her
two siblings, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja and Harshvardhan Kapoor, Rhea decided to work
as a producer and is grateful she had influential people in her life to help
guide her and make this decision, unlike her father who didn’t. Addressing the
issue of nepotism head on, she said, “I am aware of the whole nepotism debate,
I know of the privileges of being Anil Kapoor’s father. But I have had only one
father. I cannot help it.” The fashionista then added, “I have been interested
in subjects like interior designing, fashion, visual arts and a multitude of
other things. But for now I have my focus on producing films.”
As someone who admits to still honing his craft, Anil believes
that when it comes to acting, instinct is a must but training also helps as it
becomes easier for directors and writers to mould and shape you into the
character. “I never chose the film, the film chose me. I was just very happy to
work in front of the camera,” said Anil, while speaking about how enthusiastic
he was to work. He added that he would constantly feel that he is “not good
enough” and it was this “insecurity” that pushed him to work harder. Even when
some of his films failed, Anil never let it stop him and just kept pushing
forward. “Everybody felt I’m an actor but I don’t have the looks. There were
Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, all
great looking guys.” Speaking about his preparedness to fail, he advised both
his daughters that despite their film ‘Aisha’ doing badly, they must not let it
stop them because their failures are what makes them stronger.
Anil has always been known to be a positive man, who always
finds the silver lining. “It’s important to surround yourself with the right
people, who’ll tell you exactly what is right and wrong,” he said.
Anil advised upcoming actors that it’s important to keep
learning and growing no matter how much you’ve already done; there is always
room for more improvement. “There’s a shelf-life in sports and in films but you
should try your best to increase it as much as you can. That you can do by
keeping yourself fit – mentally, physically and spiritually,”said, adding that
in today’s day and age, the looks of an actor are being given more importance
than the need to better their craft and while it is important to look good,
focusing too much on it might result in stagnation. “There are so many things
that can help you become a better actor; it’s an ongoing process that you can
keep at till your dying day,” he said.
The actor, who’s a few days shy of 62, stated that after a
certain age, actors must re-evaluate themselves and try to find roles that suit
them:”I can’t play a 20-year-old guy. You have to be sensible enough to do
roles that will suit you. Life goes on. You have to reinvent and rethink
yourself. And there are still so many other roles that I can still do.”
As an actor, he strives for longevity in films and never wanted
to become an instant star.“Work is the most important thing. If you’re
depressed, you work; if you’re sick, you work;you’ll forget about anything
you’re going through if you just work,” he said.
When asked about how women are still not allowed to pursue their
dreams, Anil said the times are changing.”I believe girls are superior to boys.
I have said that all my life. That’s the kind of atmosphere we have in my
household. Girls dominate and rule the home. Once you start believing they are
special, superior, you automatically let them be.
“They are multi-talented; they can multi-task. They are so
wonderful and beautiful. I can’t imagine a world without them. The more the
women in the world, the better it is,” he added.
On
the work front, Anil Kapoor will be voicing the character of Baloo for the
Hindi version of English movie
‘Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle’.
