Bringing His A-Game

Top Stories

Bringing His A-Game

Even as he is pushing 60, Anil Kapoor never stops reinventing himself. these days, he’s all about stealing the show

by

Khalid Mohamed

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Fri 1 May 2015, 1:13 PM

Last updated: Sun 26 Jul 2015, 3:26 PM

CHALLENGER: Anil Kapoor took an offbeat career turn by playing the antagonistic game show host in Slumdog Millionaire
CHALLENGER: Anil Kapoor took an offbeat career turn by playing the antagonistic game show host in Slumdog Millionaire
A movie poster is all it took for the makeover. Anil Kapoor, now 58, has finally opted for a mature, commensurate-with-his-age look, and has instantly become a talking point in a business constantly worried about looking young before the camera.
The poster in question is for the upcoming Dil Dhadakne Do, directed by the feisty Zoya Akhtar. Set on an ocean liner, this purported romedy about a dysfunctional Punjabi family features a gamut of A-listers, including Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar. Since actors are wont to conceal their age, it must have taken some persuasion from the director to convince the actor to go for the mature look required by his role as Kamal Mehra, outfitted in sharp &designer suits.
GUEST APPEARANCE: As the playboy millionaire Brij Nath in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, a blink-and-you miss-it role for Kapoor
GUEST APPEARANCE: As the playboy millionaire Brij Nath in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, a blink-and-you miss-it role for Kapoor
Zoya laughs, “Yes, Anil was sceptical at the outset but after a make-up and costume test, he was gung-ho. According to me, he hasn’t looked this cool before, and I’m not saying this just because it’s my film. If you ask me, he doesn’t need to colour his hair black ever. He keeps in shape at the gym by working out for long hours. He doesn’t need cosmetics or facelifts at all.”
I’m inclined to agree with Zoya, especially at a juncture when the lead actors who’ve touched — or are about to touch — 50 continue to subtract their age to survive as leads. Shah Rukh Khan has joked about this in Chennai Express, what with co-star Deepika Padukone quizzing him about his age. Aamir Khan passed off as a campus &student in 3 Idiots, convincingly though. And Salman Khan has cemented an ageless image à la Rajnikanth. No one cares if Salman’s an adolescent or middle aged, as long as those shirt-tearing muscles are flaunted, instantly drawing wolf whistles from the audience.
SILVER FOX: The actor’s natty, mature look in the upcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do
SILVER FOX: The actor’s natty, mature look in the upcoming film Dil Dhadakne Do
By contrast, Anil had faced a career slump in the noughties. After a spate of downers (Musafir, My Wife’s Murder, Bewafaa, Chocolate), he got back to form with his career-resuscitating performance as a crafty TV host in Slumdog Millionaire. This was followed by a prominent part in the American TV &series 24 and a not-so-prominent part in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which, as it happened, neither damaged nor boosted his career.
Perhaps, the actor opted for a different route, once he broke away from his elder brother, producer Boney Kapoor, who could, in retrospect, be described as a control freak. Whatever Boney wanted, Anil did. The two brothers continue to be on cordial terms but, evidently, Anil now takes his decisions independently, besides helming a multi-media production office.
The actor’s grown-up kids are good-humoured about their father’s obsession to act and produce films. “He never sits still for a split second,” Sonam laughs. “And he behaves more like our buddy than our dad. If there’s been any change in him, it’s that he’s bonding much more with our mother (jewellery designer Sunita Kapoor) nowadays. Earlier, he was constantly travelling, shooting at some faraway location. We’d hardly see him. Now, he’s making up for lost time.”
His younger daughter Rhea produces films, his son Harshvardhan will make his debut as an actor with Rakeysh Mehra’s period romance Mirziya and, Sonam Kapoor, of course, is already established as a glamorous actress and fashion icon. Meanwhile, alongside the Indian version of 24, Kapoor has plans to adapt the American sitcom Modern Family.
In real life, Anil insists on looking boyish, partial to jeans and tees. A late bloomer in fashion, he turns up nattily dressed in bespoke suits at Bollywood events. Ironical, this. There was a time when his colleague and rival of the 80s and early 90s, Jackie Shroff, sparked fashion trends. Now, Kapoor does, shopping frequently at the high-end stores on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles.
So I wasn’t surprised when a technician working on Dil Dhadakne Do disclosed that Anil has somewhat stolen the show from the younger lot on the ocean liner-set movie.
When you tell him that, he turns politically correct, saying, “Nah, not really. This source of yours is being kind. Yes, I’ve gone in for a new look. But as an actor, I can never change.”
And how would he describe himself as an actor?
To that, Anil responds quite spontaneously, “A-plus. And that’s simply because I know when I’ve made a mistake and insist on a retake.”


More news from