It wasn’t a big box-office hit, but Anil Kapoor’s Nayak (2001), the story of a common man who is Chief Minister for a day, connected with people over the years to emerge as a cult film.

As it completes 20 years of its release today, the actor recalls how he wasn’t the first choice for it. “I pursued Shankar (director) after Nayak was passed up by both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh (Khan). To this date, I’m glad I did,” reveals the 64-year-old.

“All we knew while making the film was that it would be something special. Something for the ages. We had no clue it would gain the kind of traction that it did. I think it’s the subject matter that is just so relatable. The people, the government and the tensions therein will always remain a topic of great interest,” says the actor.

Nayak also starred late Amrish Puri, Rani Mukerji and Jonny Lever among others. Kapoor says every moment of shooting the film was memorable. “I remember the fight scenes, each of which felt like a film in its own. We did not have the technology that we do now, it was all hard work and choreography. I remember the junkyard fight scene in which I had to fight with almost no clothes on and for me that was really challenging and new,” he confesses.

Kapoor denies that actors only look forward to films that will do well. “I think an artiste is compelled to continue making art regardless of how it is received. And at the end of the day, it’s about what the audience connects with. You just keep going,” he adds.