With an illustrious career that spans over 43 years, Boney Kapoor stands as one of the prominent figures among Bollywood producers, boasting numerous successful ventures under his belt. His journey commenced with the action film Hum Paanch (1980), directed by Bapu. The movie featured a stellar cast of iconic Bollywood actors from that era, such as Sanjeev Kumar, Shabana Azmi, Mithun Chakraborty, Deepti Naval, Naseeruddin Shah, Raj Babbar, and Amrish Puri. The film, a remake of the 1978 Kannada movie Paduvaaralli Pandavaru, emerged as a commercial success, marking an impressive debut for Boney Kapoor as a producer. However, during a recent interview, the producer openly discussed the challenges they faced during the film's production phase. He also highlighted how the film's success enabled him to pay off his father's debts and travel abroad for the first time. Mentioning that every actor who worked on the film was signed because he insisted that all the performers stayed together even when they were not filming, Boney told ETimes that he managed to get all others on board with this plan, except Sanjeev Kumar. "Everyone agreed except for Sanjeev Kumar," Boney said. He then managed to persuade Kumar by assuring him that his involvement in the project would conclude within 25 days. The producer further revealed that Hum Paanch garnered positive responses upon release and achieved success, granting him the financial means to settle his father's debts. He shared that after paying the debts, he still had one lakh rupees left in the bank. Following this, Boney recounted how his father, producer Surinder Kapoor, urged him to travel abroad, pointing out that all his siblings had done so except him. Although his father suggested London, Boney disagreed, insisting that he would only travel first-class and not economy. He recalled his response to his father, stating, "I can't make do with just Rs 30,000 for a hotel. I also wanted to avoid staying with relatives." After bankrolling the Tamil action heist film Thunivu, starring Ajith Kumar in the lead role, Boney Kapoor is now gearing up for the release of his biographical sports drama Maidaan, helmed by Amit Sharma and starring Ajay Devgan in the lead role.
