Ready for his comic act in Pagalpanti, Anil Kapoor discusses how he gave inputs for his don character
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; November 8, 2019)

Months after he tickled the audience's funny bone with Total Dhamaal, Anil Kapoor will be seen as a don in the ensemble comedy, Pagalpanti. For an actor who has played myriad roles in a career spanning over four decades, it can be difficult to lend distinct traits to each part. But Kapoor insists he gives inputs for every character, thus making it his own. "I always create a back-story for my roles. I remember I had heard of a mafia king who lived in Malad. He was a Christian, but had inculcated Bambaiyya traits. So, when this character came my way, I told Anees bhai [Bazmee, director] to make him a Malad don instead of Mumbai ka don," laughs Kapoor, adding that his make-up artiste ended up inadvertently christening his character. "My character was earlier named Jugnu. My make-up artist [Deepak Chauhan], who has been with me for 36 years, and I wanted to make it different from Majnu bhai [his part in the Welcome franchise]. So, he suggested that we change my hairstyle and add a wi-fi logo on my forehead. I wasn't sure about it as creating the logo every day would be a taxing process. So, we decided to name the character Wi-Fi, instead."

Kapoor is one of the few artistes who can boast of such a long inning in the industry. The actor believes he has been fortunate that varied films came his way. "Our industry has done a fine job of balancing commercial and content-driven cinema. We are in the business of entertainment, and I love doing commercial cinema. Having said this, films with good content are making money at the box office because the audience has evolved more than ever."