‘I’m loving every minute of it’

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Shooting for several Indian and international projects, and producing an Indian version of the thriller TV show 24, Anil Kapoor is as at his busiest self.

Q Do you ever 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 right now.

Q Why did Mani Ratnam once badmouth about you in an interview?
I’ve grown up since those days. Maybe because I was so cocksure that I would make it as an actor. I acted in a Kannada film made by him and then insisted that if the film was dubbed in Hindi, I would dub the dialogue myself. Perhaps, he was taken aback by a newcomer being so demanding.

Q How come you don’t figure in the films of Shekhar Kapur, Yash Chopra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra anymore? 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?
Every step I’ve taken is for the longevity of my career, not for instant gratification. I started off too desperate to woo Shyam Benegal, who was making Mandi then. I’d be a regular at the offices or Tahir and Nasir Hussain. I left some reels at B.R. Chopra’s preview theatre, but the answer would always be no.

Q Did you 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. But you’ll never catch me depressed or whining.

Q No affairs?
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t attracted to any of my heroines and that the word “affair” never crossed my mind. But it isn’t worth the risk when you’re married to Sunita, who’s far more exciting, physically and intellectually.
Q How did you give the go-ahead to your daughter Sonam to join the industry?
The motto of the house has been to do whatever makes you happy. It would have been unfair for an actor to tell his daughter to not become one.