His production company is in the throes of finessing an Indian, rights-acquired version of the popular American TV series 24. Then of course, there’s the December-scheduled Mission Impossible: The Ghost Protocol which features him as a menthol-cool tycoon. The buzz is that the part may not be earth-shaking in terms of footage. To that Anil Kapoor responds, “Come on, I know journos are keeping a hawk’s eye over this. That’s fine. Anyway, I’m supremely satisfied to be in the Mission Impossible franchise. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse, I go with my gut instincts, I always have.” “Always” equals to over 30 years at the movies, which prompts the question:

Q You never get fed up of it all?
Absolutely not. That’s an insane question. I’m loving every minute of what’s happening, to me as an actor. I must have done nearly 85 to 90 films so far. That includes the few bit roles and two South Indian films, Vamsa Vriksha with Bapu and Pallavi Ana Pallavi with Mani Ratnam. Ha, so I’ve been a saleable name for decades. You should be proud of me.

Q Tell me, why did Mani Ratnam once b**** about you in an interview?
I’ve grown up since those days, maybe Mani b****** about me because I was so cocksure that I would make it as an actor. I did a Summer of ’42 kind of role in his Kannada film opposite Laxmi...yeah Lovely Laxmi, the very same. In the contract, I insisted that if the film was dubbed in Hindi, I would dub the dialogue myself. Perhaps, he was taken aback by the fact that a newcomer could be so demanding.

Q How come you don’t figure in the films of Shekhar Kapur, Yash Chopra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra any more? You’ve done some of your best work with them.
All of them have offered me roles but none matched my past work with them. And I couldn’t have possibly been in Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen. (Laughs) Could I?

Q What conscious steps have you taken to evolve as an actor?
I’ve taken every step for the longevity of my career and not for instant gratification. It wasn’t easy though. I started off desperate to woo Shyam Benegal who was making Mandi then...and also M.S. Sathyu who finally gave me my first full-length role in Kahan Kahan Se Guzar Gaya.
I’d make regular chukkers at the offices of Tahir and Nasir Hussain. I left some reels of my work at the B.R. Chopra’s preview theatre, I’d keep asking the projectionist there, “Has he seen my work?” The answer would always be, “No, he hasn’t.”

Q Do you shudder at the memories of your days of struggle?
No yaar, only the weak are rattled by the past. Instead I look back at the struggle with amusement. I’d gone to Prayag Raaj who was making Chor Police with Shashi Kapoor...and do you know what he offered me? The role of a bridegroom in a single shot, without any dialogue. I was shocked...was he giving me a break as a junior artiste?
Then for Lekh Tandon’s Ek Baar Kaho, I had to risk my life running on top of a speeding train. And when I saw the rushes, I was in tears, they had shown only my legs, keeping the camera on the close-ups of Shabana Azmi and Navin Nischal. That’s when I swore I’d become a hero, no bit roles for me ever.
Around then, Kumar Gaurav, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol had been launched with much fanfare. I had to be launched as a leading man too. Nothing more, nothing less. If I hadn’t made it as a hero with Woh Saat Din, I would have tried to become a screenplay writer or even director.

Q Ever felt down during your lean phases?
I feel down every day for an hour or two...then I kick myself and feel a tremendous high. You’ll never catch me depressed or whining. One year, I just had a single release: Trimurti. And though it bombed, I got the maximum mileage out of it from the audience as well as the media.

Q Hello, what about that mega-disastrous Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja? Have you deleted it from your memory?
(Immediately) Boney and everyone involved with it knew it would be a debacle. We had spent a year-and-a-half just in its repairwork.

Q Despite downers, how have you kept steady?
By not kidding myself, by improving myself mentally, grooming myself constantly and pushing myself beyond my capacity. I’ve also kept my private life out of the media glare.

Q Aha, no affairs?
I’d be lying if I were to say that I wasn’t attracted to any of my heroines and that the word “affair” never crossed my mind. But an affair is not worth the risk when you’re married to Sunita who’s as, if not far more, exciting, physically and intellectually.

Q What about your reported liaisons with Manisha Koirala and Madhuri Dixit?
I’ve been linked with my heroines on-and-off. It was all in good humour and gossip. It wasn’t taken seriously.

Q Your wife, Sunita, isn’t exactly crazy about Madhuri Dixit, is she?
What! She likes Madhuri as an actress. Yeah, but she pulls my leg about her.

Q You’ve been gymming and maintaining a strict diet fanatically. How important is a “look” for an actor?
For a mainstream star, the look is still very important. You may not be dressed in designer labels but you have to look your character. Today, every actor is look-conscious. There was a time when I didn’t care how I looked and ended up looking gross in Heer Ranjah and Benaam Badshah in which I wore wigs and false beards.

Q I’ve always been curious about this. You’re so protective about your kids..how come you gave the go-ahead to your daughter, Sonam, to become an actress?
The motto of the house has been: Do whatever makes you happy. If you’re convinced about bungee-jumping, go ahead. Moreoever, it would have been unfair for an actor to tell his daughter not to become an actress. I thought she was keen to become a director or writer. If Sunita and I had our way, Sonam would have been a great lawyer — she argues superbly — or a journalist. Acting is a tough profession to be in, there are no shortcuts here.
Initially, Sunita and I worried about her. She’s a lovely child. There was a time when I’d find her at home, reading all the time. There isn’t any book under the sun which she hasn’t read — from the classics to new novels to comics.