Annu Kapoor: Not all successful people in film industry are talented
Kapoor is seemingly not too happy with the aspiring lot of actors who enter Bollywood with an intention of achieving ‘star’ status.
Veteran actor Annu Kapoor may not have been able to make it to the list of mainstream commercial actors, but excelling the craft, he has carved a niche. The inceptor of one of the most popular TV shows, Antkshari (1993-2006), Kapoor has acted in quite a few films in his career spanning over three decades. Ask him how he reacts when he’s called an offbeat actor or an underdog, and he says, “This is the irony of this country. What else can I say? If my talent is not being recognised by the majority of this country, if I couldn’t become a star, that’s my fate and not my fault. I am not going to sulk.”
Kapoor, who turns 61 on Monday, feels that most artists in the industry today are ‘stars’ and far from being called ‘actors’. “In the film industry, it’s not easy to become an artist (or actor), and comparatively, it’s much easier to be a star. It will take seven births for a star to become an actor. An actor is born — some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them,” adds the actor who has worked in films such as Mr. India (1987), Hum (1991), Aitraaz (2004), Viucky donor (2012) and Shaukeen(2014).
Not just the existing bunch of actors, Kapoor is seemingly unhappy with aspiring actors who enter Bollywood with an intention of achieving the ‘star’ status. “They’re not bothered about the art or an artist or aesthetics. That’s because most of our country’s population idolises Katrina Kaif, Sunny Leone, Salman Khan. There’s nothing wrong with these people, but social media has put them on a pedestal. Not all successful people in this industry are talented. But if you happen to meet a successful and a talented person as well, it’ll always be in minority.
The actor recently shared screen space with actor Akshay Kumar in courtroom drama Jolly LLB 2 and is getting lauded for his onscreen performance. On whether there have been any apprehensions when an A-list actor eats into his pie of name, fame and box office success, Kapoor retorts, “Not once. I am a firm believer of destiny and fate. I have never been a greedy man. If a film offer comes, that’s fine, if you don’t bring me any work, that’s fine too. I don’t complain. Thank you very much. I have got so many things to do in life. Life is short but there is tremendous load of work.”
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