Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 20, 2019)

Anil Kapoor is a bundle of energy at work — if he is not busy charming his Pagalpanti co-stars Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda with gifts, he is seen giving a demo to Ileana D’Cruz about his latest gadget or teasing Arshad Warsi for his all-black attire. In a candid chat with BT, Anil also opens up about his equation with director Anees Bazmee, the risks he has taken in his career and the path his children Sonam and Harshvardhan are following in the film industry. Read on…

You have done nearly a dozen films with Anees Bazmee. While speaking about the comfort you two share at work, he mentioned that he knows you since the time he would give claps on the sets of Raj Kapoor movies. What are your early memories of working with Anees?
The first incident that comes to my mind is when Anees was writing a film for Pahlaj Nihalani. He was the one who narrated the scenes to me. The film was to be directed by someone else, but the director fell ill. So, Pahlaj called me and asked if he could send Anees to direct a part of the film. I was okay with it. So, the first actor Anees ever said an ‘action’ and a ‘cut’ to as a director, was me.

Our first full-fledged film as an actor-director was No Entry (2005). We were supposed to do Pyar To Hona Hi Tha (1998) and wanted Kajol for the film, but we could not get her on board at that time. It was heroine-oriented, so the leading lady had to be strong. Later, Ajay came on board and then Kajol also came in. Anees called me and asked if he could do this film with them (Ajay and Kajol), and I gave a goahead. The idea of the film was given by Boney (Kapoor), who had seen this Hollywood film French Kiss (1995) and worked on it. I remember this incident very well, I don’t think Anees remembers it.

You are extremely friendly with the new bunch of actors who you work with. Unlike other senior actors, you have no qualms of opening up to a Pulkit Samrat or a Kriti Kharbanda or have friendly chats with Ileana D’Cruz. They also seem extremely comfortable with you.
I have always been a people’s person. I want positivity on the set. When you are happy, the atmosphere on the set is good, and the film turns out well. I, therefore, make an effort to be friendly. I reach out to people (co-stars), rather than wait for them to reach out to me. I make the first move. The thing is that an actor can be ‘I, me, myself’ and focus on himself, but then, what happens is that he ends up looking good in the film, but the rest of it does not come together as well. Thus, the film suffers. I don’t let this happen. Whenever I feel that the energy of the actors on the set is low, or a co-actor is tired or has not slept well, then I try to create good atmosphere. Iss sab mein meri energy jaati hai and I forget my lines sometimes. By saying this, I am not trying to be sacrificial here. My only aim has been ki overall film achchi banni chahiye.

On the personal front, we see you enjoyed Diwali with daughter Sonam and son-in-law Anand Ahuja this year. It’s been a year-and-a-half since she tied the knot, how much have you adjusted to her not being around in the house?
This Diwali was great. Last year, we were in London and brought in the festival at her new house there. We had a quiet Diwali, as Sriji (Sridevi) had left us that year, so we had a small puja at home. This time, fortunately, Anand and Sonam were here in India, so we had a great party. It was hosted by Sonam and Rhea, so all their friends were there. My wife (Sunita Kapoor) is a great hostess and I feel Sonam and Rhea have taken it from their mother. Sunita and I were there too, but only to see to it that they don’t destroy the house (laughs!). When it comes to missing Sonam, yes, we do miss her, especially when she is away in London.

As a father, do you see any changes in Sonam post marriage? And how has your relationship with Anand grown over the last year?
Oh, let me tell you, she’s started cooking in London. I haven’t tried any of her dishes yet, but I have heard she cooks well. What I like about my relationship with Anand is that we are like friends. I am also friendly with Rhea's boyfriend Karan (Boolani).

There was a buzz about you teaming up with Govinda for the sequel to Deewana Mastana (1997). Have you been in touch with him over the years?
I keep meeting his children in the gym. Whenever I see his son (Yashvardhan Ahuja), I tell him, “Arre, baap ko leke aao yaar idhar (in the gym)”. Jokes apart, let me tell you that Govinda has lost weight and he is looking good.

There was also news sometime back that one of your iconic films, Ram Lakhan (1989),will be remade. In today’s times, it is challenging to get two heroes of that stature together for a project. Do you think this reason will be a deterrent, if the remake actually happens?
I wonder why? At that time, Jackie (Shroff) and I did 12 to 13 films together. In the current times, John (Abraham) and I have done many films together. In fact, Pagalpanti is my fifth film with him. And all the films that we have done together have done well, except for Salaam-E-Ishq. I think that’s because we didn’t have any scenes together (laughs!). I think that John Abraham-Anil Kapoor is the new lucky pair of Bollywood.

You started your journey in Bollywood four decades ago and charted an illustrious career in the film industry. As a father and an actor, do you think that your son Harsh Varrdhan’s journey in Bollywood has been tougher than Sonam’s journey?
Both of them (Sonam and Harsh Varrdhan) have done it on their own. While Sonam got films like Saawariya (2007) and Delhi-6 (2009), Harsh did movies like Mirzya (2016) and Bhavesh Joshi Superhero (2018). These films are still fresh in the memories of the people. Maybe, Harsh’s films didn’t do well commercially, but they laid a fantastic foundation, especially, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. Sometimes for an actor, or an actress, building this kind of a foundation is very important. Doing such kind of cinema is much better than taking up something that is commercial and regressive.

Arre inki (Harsh Varrdhan) toh bas do hi filmay nahi chali na. Meri toh kitni saari nahi chali thi in the initial days. Be it the MS Sathyu’s Kahan Se Kahan Guzar Gaya (1981), or Vamsa Vruksham (Telugu, 1980). My film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi (Kannada, 1983) with Mani Ratnam also didn’t do well. These were my first few films, but it laid a foundation in terms of the kind of films I wanted to do.

Log Harsh ko bolte hai ki he has to do the typical masala entertainers. They used to tell me the same thing. It’s like déjà vu. People have forgotten that Harsh ka baap bhi toh aisa hi tha, in fact, his baap was even worse. In my initial days, actors like Rishi Kapoor and Jeetendra would pull my leg and call me a ‘thailawala’ actor, which means someone who plays a character looking for work, with a bag on his shoulders and an overgrown beard. They all considered me the serious kind of an actor. Everybody used to make fun of me and say, ‘Arre yaar tu Kapoor hai’, you should do more commercial films. Kuch masala picture kar, kya yeh sab kar raha hai? I always knew what I wanted. No pain, no gain.

Harsh Varrdhan will follow his own path. At the moment, he has three films in hand. He is in the prep mode for all of them simultaneously. One film is a biopic of the Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra. It is an ambitious project and we are looking forward to it.

Sometime ago, your reply to a fan on social media asking you to become the CM of Maharashtra, like you did in the film Nayak (2001), went viral. At a time when films are being made on socially relevant subjects, don't you think it's the right time for a film like Nayak 2?
Arre bohot hai aise subjects hamare paas. Everybody, including the directors, politicians, have been approaching me since years, asking me to do something on those lines. People are offering me big money to do films like that. However, jab tak kahani correct nahi hai, tab tak I won’t do it. I don’t want to do a sequel just for the heck of it. It has to fit in correctly. I have got something in mind now, hopefully that should work out. Fingers crossed.