Anil Kapoor on 20 years of Nayak: I pursued Shankar for Nayak after both Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan passed it up

Actor Anil Kapoor talks about his 2001 film Nayak, as it completes 20 years of it’s release on September 7.

It wasn’t a big box office success upon it’s release. But Anil Kapoor’s Nayak, a story about a common man becoming the Chief Minister for a day, connected so much with people over the years, that it has emerged as a cult film.

Actor Anil Kapoor played the lead role in the 2001 Hindi film Nayak.

As it completes 20 years of it’s release on September 7, the actor recalls how he wasn’t the first choice for it. “I pursued Shankar (director) after Nayak was passed up by both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh. To this date, I’m glad I did,” reveals the 64-year-old.

He did get a sense that the film would be liked by people while making it. “Honestly, all we knew while making the film was that it would be something special. Something for the ages. We had no clue it would gain the kind of traction that it did. I think it’s the subject matter that is just so relevant and relatable. The people, the government and the tensions therein will always remain a topic of great interest and personal relevance,” tells us the actor.

Nayak also starred late Amrish Puri, Rani Mukerji, Johnny Lever and many more actors. Kapoor says every moment of shooting the film was memorable. “I remember the fight scenes, each of which felt like a film in its own. Back then we did not have the technology that we have now so it was all raw hard work and choreography. I remember the junkyard fight scene in which I had to fight with almost no clothes on and for me that was really challenging and new,” he confesses.

Kapoor emphasises on how it is not true that actors only look forward to taking up films that will outshine their other films, or it necessarily has to do well. For him, it’s only the craft. “I think an artist is compelled to continue making art regardless of how it is received. It’s almost a compulsion. I choose movies that help me grow personally and professionally, not necessarily for their blockbuster opportunities. And at the end of the day, it’s about what the audience likes and connects with. All we can do is give it our best in every film. That’s the beauty of what we do, you never know what will be liked or not liked. You just keep going,” says the actor.