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Fulfilling ambition with 'Armaan'
Photo: Rajeev Bhatt.
Anil Kapoor... a dash of real on the reel..
MOODY, BRASH, lacking in sense of humour, even discourteous, you might apply all such epithets to Anil Kapoor at one time or another. But soon you might realise that he is equally a man of substance who talks sense. He, can, however, afford to be so after an enviable career span in films.
He is sporting goggles in an air-conditioned room; ask him why, and he gets irritated. "It is my room, my face, my eyes and my goggles, what is your problem? Goggles for me are like tissue paper, use and throw stuff."
He is in New Delhi's Maurya Sheraton to talk about his latest film "Armaan". The word Bollywood irritates him. "Isn't Indian film industry a better and sophisticated term?" he demands.
Yes it is. As sophisticated as his new role in "Armaan" in which he plays a neurosurgeon.
A first experience of playing a strong role - that too opposite Amitabh Bachchan. Any special preparations? "The script itself was well-researched, but to get into the soul of my role, I met a neurosurgeon Dr. Ranade in Pune. He helped me by telling about situations a neurosurgeon faces, how he copes with them and other related things. I visited hospitals to see this specific department, the neurosurgeon's body language, patients, their behaviour and doctor's reactions etc."
As for the Big B, he has this to say: "In `Mashaal' I was made to act against giants like Dilip Kumar and... I was nervous but not scared. When I could do it that time, why not now? I have come a long way since then."
From Padmini Kolhapure to Gracy Singh, he has come a long way here too. Does he find any difference? "The major difference is tremendous confidence that the new generation has. They are also flashier than their predecessors. Gracy still has that traditional touch about her. She keeps to herself on the sets but when she faces the camera, she is a thorough professional."
On the challenges posed by competition and regular arrival of new faces in the cinema, he feels he has no reason to feel insecure.
"I believe that those who have substance will stay for long. You can see for yourself, many have come and gone and those with substance are still there."
And he feels happy that audiences are also growing sensible and logical about watching films. "You cannot fool them now. They want films with substance. Gone are the days when they used to be happy with a world of fantasy woven around them." He points out that even as spectators appreciate crossover cinema for its serious contents, they are equally capable of rejecting films for their hollowness.And his "Armaan"?
"Since, it touches real lives, I have high hopes."
RANA A. SIDDIQUI
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