Interview: Anil Kapoor

After sharing the producer’s credit line with Ram Gopal Varma for My Wife’s Murder, Anil Kapoor turns full-time producer with Gandhi My Father. Pratim D. Gupta quizzed the actor about the August 3 release and more.

Why would a busy actor like you decide to turn full-time producer?
I just felt that the story of Gandhi My Father had to be told to the world. It was an untold story and had the markings of good cinema. I listened to the script as a cinegoer first and was totally moved by it. I knew that I had to bear the brunt of being an actor and producer at the same time. But I wanted to spend all my free time on production. Finally, I ended up focussing so much on this that I didn’t take up any acting assignment.

So it was the film that dictated your decision of turning producer rather than the other way round?
Also because of the director. I have known Feroze (Abbas Khan) for 12 years now. So I knew I wasn’t working with a stranger. I was venturing into an area not completely alien to me.

Did you see Feroze’s play Mahatma Vs Gandhi?
The film is not based on the play. It is based on the biography of Harilal written by Chandulal Dalal. But yes, it’s on the same subject. And I did watch the play and was completely dumbfounded by it.

What was one aspect of the story that touched you most?
That the sacrifice Mahatma Gandhi made for the country was much bigger as a father. I could understand that because I am a father myself. What we know of Mahatma Gandhi is just one per cent of what he actually achieved. He was almost like Jesus Christ, yet very human.

You are the first to be cast in your brother Boney Kapoor’s production. Why are you not acting in Gandhi My Father?
I wanted to be true to the script. I wanted to give complete focus to the making of the film. I don’t have that structure where I can be an actor and producer at the same time. Had the film been produced by someone else, I might have played some role.

Everyone from Naseeruddin Shah to Boman Irani played Gandhi in the stage version. Why did you opt for the little-known Darshan Zariwalla?
Cinema and stage are completely different mediums. We wanted to make the best choice, cinematically. Darshan too had done Feroze’s play. And he being a Gujarati helped. Gandhiji was also a Gujarati. Also, if you notice all the actors who played Gandhi became famous after playing Gandhi. Ben Kingsley was Ben Kingsley after playing Gandhi. So, we thought a new person could be a good idea. In the film he is shown growing from young to old. Some of the senior actors you mentioned have crossed that age where they can still look young.

You insist that Akshaye Khanna was born to play Harilal...
I believe not much has been seen of Akshaye. He has been working for over a decade now but has been thoroughly underutilised. I told him you don’t know how good you are. Now the time has come. After Gandhi My Father, he will definitely be among the top three stars around.

Why did you hold back the ready film for so long?
The nature of the film is such that it has to be released at the right time. Also, I wanted there to be a gap after Lage Raho Munnabhai. I had no sword hanging over my head and I was not answerable to anyone. So I waited. I wanted the film to be marketed globally. Little information about the product rather than a lot of nonsense. I am trying my best to get a global audience.

There are already protests in Bihar on how Gandhi has been portrayed in the film...
I just came to know about that. We have been careful about that since it is indeed a very sensitive subject. So we took the entire Gandhi family into confidence. After Tushar Gandhi (great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) saw the film, he felt that some member of the Gandhi family had made the film. We have also received a ‘U’ certificate with no cuts.

What are you producing next?
An entertainer called Shortcut directed by Neeraj Vohra, starring Akshaye, Arshad Warsi and Amrita Rao.