Survival Instinct

There are few things on which actor Annu Kapoor doesn’t have an opinion. Right now,the former star anchor of the music talent show Antakshari wants to hold forth on 2G and A Raja. Sitting cross-legged on a sofa at the Le Meridien,Kapoor,55,whose best performances were in Mr India and Raincoat ,talks forcefully on how he might have handled the political scenario — and it becomes a challenge to steer the conversation to Kapoor’s next film,Vishal Bharadwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf ,an adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s Susanna’s Seven Husbands .

“After a long gap,I finally bagged a role that I enjoyed. My long association with Bharadwaj proved helpful this time,” says Kapoor. Kapoor plays police inspector Keemat Lal in the film,who is investigating the murder of Susanna’s (Priyanka Chopra) first husband played by Neil Nitin Mukesh. Soon,Keemat Lal finds himself investigating her second husband’s (John Abraham) murder,too. Ultimately,he too falls for the charms of Susanna. Does he become her victim? Kapoor isn’t telling.

He is more forthcoming about reports that Chopra had complained that she was uncomfortable shooting intimate scenes with him. “We took note of her objections. We shot these scenes separately,” he answers. “The film was a good experience. My mental tuning is in sync with Bharadwaj’s and he understands the roles that suit me.”

Bharadwaj had composed music for Kapoor’s directorial debut Abhay (1984),a children’s film which received a National Award.

Since Antakshari went off air four years ago,Kapoor has been keeping busy with creating entertainment shows for TV. Earlier this year,he formed a production house called Amadeus,which is planning its first feature film. “I have no work,” he says candidly.