Anil Kapoor says he risked his ‘entire career, image’ with AK vs AK, co-star Anurag Kashyap calls it ‘real courage’
Actor Anil Kapoor has said that no matter how edgy the concept sounded, it was always a major risk to do AK vs AK. He said that with the film, he has put his entire career and image at stake.
Actor Anil Kapoor has said that he risked his career with AK vs AK, and he would never have agreed to do the film had Vikramaditya Motwane not been directing it. AK vs AK is a mockumentary in which the actor plays an exaggerated version of himself, opposite director Anurag Kashyap.
“If you weren’t directing I would have never said yes,” Anil told Hindustan Times. “That’s your instinct, the choices you make. I’ve seen Vikram’s work in the past, and I knew that I’m in safe hands. So when you take these kind of chances and put your entire career at stake, and your entire image at stake, which you have built, no matter what happens, no matter how liberated (you feel), no matter how broad-minded you are...”
He continued, “You’re thinking ahead, you’re thinking international, you’re thinking about the youth... You need someone, (with whom) you feel secure, and you trust that person to do it correctly, that the film will be aesthetically done.”
Anurag downplayed his courage, and said that his co-star had more to lose. He said that it was more risky for ‘him especially’, because he has built ‘40 years of credibility’ in the industry. “To be so secure that you’re putting that at stake, and involving (daughter) Sonam, (son) Harsh, everyone is playing along with it... For me, that’s where the real courage is.” He said, “I don’t have much at stake, if anything, this cements my reputation.”
The film unfolds across a single night, when Anurag tells Anil that he has kidnapped his daughter, as revenge for how he was treated by the actor, and the industry. Sonam and Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor appear in cameos.
AK vs AK released on Netflix on December 24, on the occasion of Anil’s birthday. It marks Vikram’s second project for the streaming platform, following Sacred Games, and Anurag’s fifth. The filmmaker has worked on Sacred Games, Lust Stories, Ghost Stories and Choked.
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