Globetrotter

That’s high praise indeed. And all of it in addition to the fact that Danny Boyle is now planning a thriller with Anil Kapoor. “Yes,I’m doing another film with him,” says the actor. Sweet redemption indeed for the actor who has long had a reputation of a talented actor.

Slumdog Millionaire has won four trophies at the prestigious Golden Globe Awards,usually,a precursor to Academy Awards. The film has already been part of major festivals—Toronto,London,Dubai and will later this month,premiere at the Jaipur Literary Festival.

Kapoor thought that movie had its heart in the right place but had not imagined that it would snowball into international acclaim. “When you are in a film,you can’t gauge how it’s going to fare. I liked the story though. It’s a story the world can relate to — a love story with a happy ending,good guy-bad guy. In fact,like Deewar it also has two brothers on the opposite sides of law. It’s almost a Dickensian story.”

The film remained in the North American Top 12 for four consecutive weekends despite being played in limited theatres. And given the impressive number of awards and accolades,Fox Searchlight even expanded its release to 500 theatres. It was interesting that he had been receiving offers for hosting television shows namely Dus Ka Dum for Sony and A Moment Of Truth by Star TV.

In his preparation for the role,he met Siddharth Basu,perhaps India’s first quizmaster of repute who has gone on to produce many game shows —Kaun Banega Crorepati,Kya Aap Paanchvi Paas Se Tez Hain and Dus Ka Dum. They even had mock rehearsals with Kapoor in the hot-seat with Computerji.

“The thing about being a quizmaster is that it is tough. You can’t mumble—there has to be clarity in your diction.” In preparing for his role,Kapoor watched the CDs of Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan among others.

Of Bachchan who set a trend with his Kaun Banega Crorepati,he says,“He’s in a class of his own. While doing the show,I realised how good he is.” Kapoor is equally kind of Shah Rukh Khan. “Shah Rukh’s energy and the fun element he brought to the show was enviable but I also borrowed from news anchors such as Rajdeep Sardesai,Prannoy Roy,Arnab Goswami and Karan Thapar—the way they interrogate/interview people.”

The work on the movie finished in 12 days during which he worked closely with Boyle. “We got along well. It was a creative jugalbandi. We had to report for shooting sharp at nine in the morning and then continue for 13-14 hours. Danny’s energy was unmatchable.”

His enthusiasm and excitement impressed all those working on the project. Says co-director Loveleen Tandan of Kapoor,“As an actor,he’s always pushed the envelope with his roles.”

The actor is equally enthused about the children who play slum kids in his movie. “I’m going to cast all the children sometime in my life,” he vows. Now that’s a thought he could hold on to for his

Mr India -2 that’s in the offing with yet another global director—Shekhar Kapoor.