I think it boils down to destiny that in just about a year I got to play two very distinct roles in two films that could not be more dissimilar," says Anil Kapoor. "As an artiste, could one ask for more?"
The actor is talking about his role as an autistic man in Subhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj, and a quiz show host in Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed English film, Slumdog Millionaire.
"In one film, I am struggling with an emotional disability, and in the other, I command the show," he says. The actor was in Los Angeles last week to promote Slumdog, which is getting rave reviews. The film, which opened to a strong $420,000 five-day gross in 10 theatres in North America, could become his most successful film ever. Some industry insiders expect the film, made for $15 million, to gross over $50 million worldwide.
Working for the two films -- Yuvvraaj and Slumdog -- was quite an experience, he says, adding that he had never before had such a thrill in his career, spanning three and half decades. The last year has also been a very busy time for him as a producer -- he has greenlit a comedy Shortkut -- The Con Is On, and is about to launch a film starring his daughter Sonam.
So how was it working under two high-octane directors? "Here was Ghai, an Indian filmmaker, making a film with a very Western flavour, and shooting it [partly] in Austria," Kapoor says, "and on the other hand, there was Boyle, a British director making a film in India and with a distinct Indian flavour."
Slumdog is set in Mumbai and was shot entirely in India. It tells the story of three children from the slums whose destinies take them to unimagined places. One of the three (Dev Patel) vies for the millions on the quiz show and is disliked and envied by the host.
"Slumdog has a very grungy look," Kapoor says. "But Yuvvraaj has a grand setting. I enjoyed working in these films. Slumdog was a special challenge because not only was I working for a British film which is being distributed by Fox Searchlight [in North America and India] and Warner Brothers but I was also doing an English film for the first time in my career."
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ringtones, wallpapers!
"He is a wonderful director," Kapoor adds. "He was determined to coax strong and believable performances not only from the seasoned artistes in the film [Irrfan Khan has a small but solid role as a police inspector] but also from the new artistes [Dev Patel and Freida Pinto, among others].
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