Sanjeev Kapoor tells Twinkle Khanna the story behind cutting his ‘iconic’ moustache, says he wants Akshay Kumar to play him in biopic: ‘Khana bhi acha banate hain’

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor appeared as a guest on Twinkle Khanna's chat show, The Icons, and spoke about the time when his fanbase was divided after he trimmed his iconic moustache.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | March 18, 2023 06:22 PM IST

3 min read

Check Sanjeev Kapoor says Akshay Kumar would be a good choice for his biopic.(Photo: Instagram/sanjeevkapoor/akshaykumar)

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Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna recently welcomed chef Sanjeev Kapoor as a guest on her chat show The Icons, posted on the Tweak India YouTube channel. While the two of them talked about food, the topic of his potential biopic came up. Twinkle pointed out that a film is being made on the life of Tarla Dalal, and asked Sanjeev whom he’d want to play him in a biopic.

“Who would you want to play you? Have they already cast someone then give us an exclusive now,” she said. Sanjeev replied, “Akshay Kumar ji kahaan hai (Where is Akshay Kumar)?” He added, “Khana bhi acha banate hai (He cooks well as well).” For the unversed, before becoming an actor, Akshay worked in Thailand as a chef and a waiter. That is where is learnt cooking. Akshay and Twinkle have been married for over two decades.

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Twinkle then steered the conversation towards moustaches, and revealed that she used to have upper lip growth during childhood and her mother, Dimple Kapadia, would often tease her. Twinkle said, “When I was a kid, mother used to tease me because I had an actual moustache. She used to say that ‘muche ho to Nathulaal jaisi warna na ho‘.”

Sanjeev, who was known for his moustache during his long tenure as a TV chef, recalled people’s reaction to when he trimmed them off. “My mustache was iconic,” said the chef, and added, “So, people would say that and my wife Alyona would say, ‘ek baar to nikaal ke dekho‘. So Aalim Hakim (celebrity hairdresser) said, ‘yeah we will do something.’ and then he says, ‘mooch nikal do‘. Mobile phones were launched by then so, I called my wife and said ‘wo aise bol raha hai’ and she said, ‘kar lo’. (I called my wife and said this is what Aalim is saying and she said, ‘go ahead’).”

Around the same time, Sanjeev also participated in dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa in it’s first season. He said, “This was first season of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. So, first episode I had a fake moustache on and then I took that off. When I took off the moustache, people were so divided.” Twinkle further grilled him, and asked about the reaction of his female fans, and Sanjeev said, “There was a clear divide. Younger audience wanted me without moustache, older wanted me with moustache.”

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