Hit Machine

There’s an air of quiet achievement around him. The success of Raajneeti after last year’s Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani has consolidated his stocks in the industry. The industry is hailing him as the new king of the box office. He isn’t impressed with this new label. “Come on,it’s all about the film at the end of the day. I don’t take success seriously just as I don’t take failure to my heart,” he says.

We are seated in the outhouse of Krishna Raj,Ranbir’s Pali Hill bungalow. He’s flashing a new style statement in the form of a goatee which he terms as a “symbol of berozgaari (joblessness)”. Kapoor’s not been on a film set for over two months after a marathon two-month schedule in the USA for Siddharth Anand’s Anjaana Anjaani. He utilised this time out to promote Raajneeti,his first multi-starrer. Looking back,Kapoor says that it was an instinctive decision to act in the Prakash Jha film. “I liked the world of Raajneeti. I took the film’s script as my Bible and organically crafted the character of Samar. I knew I had to do the film the moment I heard the story,” he says. That’s pretty much the way he approaches all his films. “I decide at the end of the narration. If the story has hooked me and if the world the story is set in appeals to me,then I instantly say yes. If you wait,then unnecessary doubts start to cloud your thinking.”

Similarly,Kapoor has taken an instinctive decision to act in the Kishore Kumar biopic. He loved the script which is being helmed by Anurag Basu. The actor understands the challenge this one is going to be. “Through this film we’ll be celebrating his life,his madness,passion and work. But we want to do it with dignity. We have to be very careful because we are talking about the country’s biggest music legend. It’ll be more of a challenge for me as I have no musical talent whatsoever,” he says. As to his favourite Kishore Kumar numbers,off the top of his head,he lists: Khaike Paan Benaras Waala,Ek haseena thi and Mera jeevan kora kaagaz.