Rajesh Khanna flop destroyed my father, recalls Anil Kapoor: ‘Bollywood disowned him, drove me to become a hero’

He also spoke about his mother, Nirmal Kapoor, and said: “My mom was known to be the best cook in this film fraternity. it’s like folklore, food cooked by Mrs. Sunil Kapoor, or Anil’s mom, or Sonam’s grandmother. Her food was legendary. We used to stay in Chembur, near RK Studios. No matter who was shooting, food would go from my home. She was like an elder stateswoman. Whoever in this industry needed advice,  whether it was about marriage, children being born, or anything else, she was really like a mother to everybody around us: family, friends, everyone.”

He also shared that despite his father being a producer who worked with leading stars, he made it clear that he would not help Anil land a film. Anil recalled: “So when I said I wanted to become an actor, he said, ‘Okay, go ahead. But I can’t make a film for you. You’ll have to find work for yourself.’ And that was great, because he let me do what I wanted to do and pursue my dreams.” Anil said he began his journey at a very young age and did not have time to reflect deeply at the time:

‘Everybody disowned him’

“I started pursuing a career at a very young age, around 18 or 19, I think before I could complete my studies, my dad wasn’t well. He had a heart attack. He was a film producer, and it was difficult to get leading men and actors for his films at the time. So I said, ‘I have to become an actor. I have to become a leading man.’ And that’s when I really started pursuing my career seriously. At that time, I couldn’t really give myself the space to process my feelings because I was constantly trying to build a career, become an actor, get work, get a job. I was always trying to find work.”

He also recalled an incident when one of his father’s films, starring Rajesh Khanna, failed at the box office. The experience left a deep impression on him: “I remember one of his films had released, and it was starring one of the biggest superstars, Rajesh Khanna. Everybody expected it to become a huge success, but it turned out to be a big failure. And I remember how everybody changed within hours.”

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Anil explained further: “He was travelling from Delhi because films used to release in different states on different days back then, not all at once. So he went to Bangalore, and there was no one there to receive him at the airport. Everybody had absolutely kind of deserted him, disowned him. That was shocking. And that’s the first time I saw him like that. He came back, and while he wasn’t exactly crying, I could see he was very vulnerable, almost in tears.”

He said that moment stayed with him forever: “That visual has always stayed in my mind. And that’s one of the reasons, seeing my dad go through that, I always wanted to become a hero, a leading man, an actor.”

Watch Anil Kapoor at Expresso by SCREEN

Recently, speaking at the 12th edition of Expresso by SCREEN, Anil once again reflected on his father’s struggles: “As a producer, it was very tough for him to get stars, leading men. Every film was a struggle. I have seen him go through very tough times, trying to manage the date situations of leading stars. And this made me think, ‘Why don’t I become a hero myself?’ So that my family doesn’t have to go outside to make films.”

Anil Kapoor was last seen in the film Subedaar.