Over the course of 40 years, actor Anil Kapoor had straddled the domain of arthouse and commercial cinema with equal ease. By Ayushi Sharma
The recent trailer of Malang has been making waves as people hazard wild guesses about what the film’s storyline is about. There are conjectures all around as to who is playing what and actor Anil Kapoor fuels the curiosity further when you ask him about his character. He laughs and says that’s the “intent” because it’s a thriller. “Yes, it does look a bit confusing and that’s the idea — to keep people’s curiosity alive. The trailer should be such that people want to watch the film when it releases. Don’t you want to?,” he asks.
Anil has played a range of characters during the 40 years that he has been a part of the industry. But he is not flagging as he continues to reinvent himself with each film. His first reaction to the trailer was similar to that of most of the audience. So what made him go for such a character? “When I heard the script, I felt what the audience is feeling after watching the trailer. It makes you think about what and how will the film unfold. It confuses you. But then you are eager to find out the layers. The narrative is not simple but it is definitely interesting,” says he.
The film revolves around a couple, Advait (Aditya Roy Kapoor) and Sara (Disha Patani), whose seemingly perfect life comes crashing down when they get linked to a corrupt cop (Anil) and his righteous counterpart (Kunal Khemu). To further complicate matters, all four are on a killing spree. Anil plays a police officer from Goa, who is disappointed with the ways of the world and the hostile environment around him. He feels that the process is slow and taxing. “He just wants justice. While his department is a little unhappy with the way he works, he is also dissatisfied with the manner in which his department handles operations. There’s also a simmering anger within him about the decline of Goa. Earlier he was fine with the place becoming a tourist attraction but now he finds that it has become too commercial,” he tells us. Anil feels that such films push one to use their mind and youngsters today enjoy doing that. “They don’t want to be spoonfed,” he says.
Amid this flood of good content and realistic cinema, what do thrillers have to offer? Do they still appeal to the audience as they did before? Moreover, the idea of thrillers has also changed with Sacred Games and Mirzapur. They are no longer infused with fiction or fantasy. It’s reality all the way. Anil thinks it’s changing because of the kind of exposure to content we have now. “It’s so important that even fantasy has a bit of reality now. People want the characters and stories to be real. A little larger than life. Nobody starts investing in something the customer doesn’t require. It’s always according to what people want. There are so many stakeholders, distributors and producers. They always invest in stories which the audience wants to consume. Sometimes they succeed and at times they don’t. It’s just a part of the business. Also, the choices vary from filmmaker to filmmaker, actor to actor. You just need to do your best and eventually, it is the audience which decides what’s right, what’s wrong,” he says.
The actor is known to have blended in with the younger generation really well. So does he feel the pressure of putting the right content forward as many people, especially youngsters look up to him? He feels that it’s not just him but almost everybody has the pressure of putting the right content forward, no matter the age or the profession. “When everybody knows the kind of work you do, they start expecting a little more and you stand in a position where you have to deliver. That’s partially the price you pay for being in the show business. And you are also paid for that, so why won’t you deliver? There are no free lunches in life,” he laughs and says.
As an actor, Anil has straddled arthouse and big commercials effortlessly. How difficult is it to keep a balance while switching genres? It depends on the actor, he says. For him, the more challenging it is, the more exciting it becomes. “I love challenges. I want to dive into something which I have never done before. So I never step back from trying new things because when you keep on doing same things over and over again, there is a tendency to stagnate and people get bored. So that’s not the right move for an actor who really loves his work. And when you start doing great work, people expect you to do the same thing and even that becomes more challenging. Both ways, it is difficult,” says Anil.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
