Heather
Fernandes-Colaco
One is an actor that has stayed relevant almost 40 years after making his debut in Bollywood. The other has been writing for close to 3 decades. Together the maverick duo have had an association that has been greatly rewarding, both personally as well as commercially. Think Pagalpanti, No Entry, Welcome.
At the 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India 2019 held in Panaji, Goa on Friday, veteran cinestar Anil Kapoor and his buzzman director Anees Bazmee once again delighted audiences with their repartee, each modestly crediting the other for his success.
Stating that he is truly a ‘Director’s Actor’, Anil Kapoor humbly attributed his success to all of his directors and especially to Anees Bazmee.
“Anees’ pen is magical. His writing is original. He writes from his heart,” said Anil Kapoor adding that he will never tire of working with the director.
“I started my career in 1977 when I faced the camera for the very first time. That was over 40 years ago, but even 40 years later, I have never been so hungry,” he said, adding, “One lifetime is not enough to fulfill all my dreams.”
Elaborating further, the evergreen actor said, “Another thing I always wanted to do is a period film. But in order to do that, you need to have some resemblance to the face of the person you are portraying... so I’m still waiting for that to happen. “
Reminiscing about his younger days, the actor who does not look a day over 35 said, “Nowadays, it’s so easy for an aspiring actor or filmmaker to reach an audience. In my days, we had to cut rushes of film, paste them together and physically take them over for audition. I used to take as many as 3 buses to reach our destination, and I would use the commute to observe the people I came across. Then I would try and use the characteristics of these real-life experiences in my acting.”
But how does one stay relevant even after 4 decades in an industry that sees fresh, new faces everyday?
“You have to keep working on it. Every few years, I try to reinvent myself, I try to do something fresh. I try to do something different. That has been the key of my longevity in cinema. Also, I do not try to be a hero. I look for characters instead. In Welcome, I’m not a hero nor am I a villain. There is no story on me. I’m just Nana Patekar’s assistant. Yet people remember my character,” he says rather proudly.
Humbly stating that he is still a student of cinema, and he is is still learning, Anil Kapoor stressed that the only way to stay relevant is to “keep reinventing yourself.”
“And that is the takeaway from today’s discussion,” he concluded.
WHAT ANEES SAID
Actors should always be eager to learn. They can’t get complacent. Anil is not like that. Each time he does a film, it’s like he is shooting for the very first time. That is the secret of his success. Filmmaking is teamwork so you have to take all of these things into account. You don’t want difficult people. With Anil Kapoor, you hit gold, because he is both, a director’s actor and an amazing human being.
