Anil Kapoor on Jugjugg Jeeyo: 'I don’t want to do only goody-goody roles; it’s too boring'

Anil Kapoor has played a wide range of characters in his prolific career spanning over four decades in Hindi films – from dramatic, to romantic, to dark, to funny. Further, the actor raised the bar with hugely successful international projects like Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the fourth instalment of Tom Cruise-led series, in 2011.  Kapoor, who transitioned to senior characters with films like  Dil Dhadakne Do , Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga  and  Mubarakan  says now he is in yet another phase in his career as he collaborates with new directors and writers, “who are offering me something that is challenging me the most”.

In the upcoming family comedy, Jugjugg Jeeyo that presents a ‘fresh’ take on infidelity and divorce, Kapoor plays Bheem Sukhnani, a self-centred middle-aged married man having an affair with another woman and his struggle to divorce his wife (played by Neetu Kapoor) and alongside he learns about his son’s (Varun Dhawan) unhappy marriage and his plans to divorce his wife (Kiara Advani). Directed by Raj Mehta and produced by Dharma Productions and Viacom18, Jugjugg Jeeyo hits theatres on 24 June.

Anil Kapoor will soon start shooting for Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal which stars Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead. He also has Siddharth Anand’s Fighter co-starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone.

On playing Bheem

Either there is a Bheem everywhere or everybody wants to become a Bheem. Some men are just thinking …He has his wife but he is looking elsewhere. There are some people who keep thinking [of cheating> and there are some who do it and my character goes ahead and does it. But I feel everybody has a selfish streak to them unless they are saints. For some people, whatever instincts and dreams they have, they keep within themselves, they control themselves, but there are some people who don’t care. I related to the character in a way that I saw a lot of men who are like that. We are also very honest and true to the premise that we had set out to make. But it is good to play such a character with so many grey shades, I don’t want to do only goody-goody roles; it’s too boring. Also, these days, middle-aged characters are written in a more nuanced manner; I am enjoying playing my age.

JugJugg Jeeyo   is a tale of (difficult) marriages, infidelity and two generations craving for divorce. His take on the ‘taboo’ topic

I will talk from a woman’s point of view here because their life is much tougher as compared to men. I feel if a woman is unhappy in her marriage and if she finds it is torturous living with the man, it is better she separates from him. Why go through this torture? She keeps suffering because now there are children in their lives but then how much can she suffer and sacrifice her happiness. But what is good is that today’s woman is very strong. They have good friends for company, they have that will power and they are brave enough to take some important decisions and make a life for themselves. Earlier I would see girls, their families looking for good boys for marriage but for some time now the trend has changed. I can see that these days boys are desperate to get married, whereas girls are in no hurry and there is no pressure from families, too. They want to marry, lead their lives as per their own terms.

Fortunate to be part of several comedies

I have been fortunate to have done so many comedies like No Entry, Welcome, Mubarakan…In fact, my earlier films like_Woh Saat Din, Biwi No 1, Deewana Mastana…_ also had some great comic moments. In the past we have had many films where only some portions were very funny while the rest of it was serious stuff.  Then we started making films which were out-and-out comedy but I enjoy doing all kinds of films. But doing comedies is very tough. I have also done so many funny ads like Licious, Spotify, Uber and people have loved those as well. Doing ads where you get an opportunity to showcase your talent and make people laugh in a certain limited time of 30 to 60 seconds is even more difficult.

Plans to pursue his career after spending over four decades in the industry

I will keep experimenting what I have done all my life, all through my career. If I did an Eeshwar, I did a Ram Lakhan, if I did a_Viraasat_, I did a Biwi No 1.  I recently did Thar which is totally out-of-the box, and I am also doing Jug Jugg Jeeyo, if I did an AK v/s AK, I did a Malang which is very out there, over-the-top in terms of performance. But nothing comes easy. You have to put in a lot of hard work, effort and thought in whatever you do. Then you need a good director, a good writer…

Diverse filmography and his criteria for selecting scripts

Everybody has their own taste, everybody has their own intellect and mind what they feel as actors. Sometimes you have a certain instinct, or a certain craft or talent which is more relatable to people, that whatever you do connects with them. Some actors give seven hits out of 10 because they have that instinct in selecting films. But there are some actors who don’t care, they just do films that they want to see, they don’t think about the audience. Like my son Harshvardhan, he wants to do films which he wants to see and that gives him happiness and satisfaction, for instance, Bhavesh Joshi, or Spotlight, or AK v/s AK in which he did a tiny role. Then he did Thar which is a western noir genre. But at times there are other reasons why I do a film. There could be financial stress, or maybe I want to help a filmmaker friend even if you haven’t liked the script, I end up doing it due to emotional reasons. There may be different reasons to do a film but what is important is that you still survive.

Consistency is the key

Well, there have been lows in my career but it was not that bad and not as much, it was like touch and go. Consistency in my career is a combination of hard work and lady luck which is also very important. I made the right choices at the right time. When I got some good opportunities I grabbed those with both my hands and didn’t take them lightly. I worked hard on them. I learnt from my mistakes and tried not to repeat those mistakes. But there is also some element of destiny because there are people who are more talented, better looking, more hardworking, more passionate but things don’t work for them. Then, I also believe that at times the second generation comes and reaps the harvest. It must be my dad’s hard work, his honesty..And it could be that I am reaping his goodness, his humanity, his humbleness. Probably he deserved more but he didn’t get.

Any more international projects after Slumdog Millionaire, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and 24 series?

Sometimes things don’t work out because of various reasons. It might be the role. It might be the script; it might be the timing when they approached me. And sometimes there might be situations where I feel it is not worth my time to go there for this kind of film, or this kind of role. But I’m always open to jobs which challenge me, which will help me grow my craft as an actor. I never had any dreams of becoming an international star but my intention was to learn from them.

Any change in approach towards work due to a drastic change in film business post pandemic?

You don’t know what will work and what will not. You like the story, you like the director, you like the script and you say ‘yes’ to the film. You have to go with your gut instinct; I don’t follow any trend.

Working with Neetu Kapoor

We have known each other for many years now; she is like a family member. Obviously it was very sad when Rishi Saab left us. But when Karan (Johar) managed to convince Neetu and told us that she will be part of the film I was very happy. For the audience also if two people are working for the first time that brings freshness to the film. What is really good is when she came on set we never felt the heaviness of the whole situation and that shows the kind of person she is. She is a brave and wonderful lady and I am fortunate enough to be working with her. She is so casual about everything – her stardom, the family that she belongs to, married to one of the greatest actors and having a son who is one of the biggest stars of the country. She suits the role and nobody could have done better than her.

Any tips to daughter Sonam Kapoor on parenting? (Kapoor will soon turn grandfather to Sonam’s child)

I am not the right person to give tips. Of course, I am very happy, it is an emotional moment. It is a beautiful feeling.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.

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