Rishi Kapoor on getting his due late in his career: 'I never gave critics and audiences any reason to like me'

An interview session with actor Rishi Kapoor is more like a school class where he dons the role of a class teacher. When I meet him for his upcoming film 102 Not Out, the initial five minutes are spent explaining the rules of engagement. The dos and don’ts. One message that is loud and clear is his aversion to giving interviews least knowing that he actually happens to be an interviewer’s delight. “I hate giving interviews. How much will one actor keep giving the same answer? After the third interview, I get aggressive and then angry, and finally I want to hit the bloody person. It’s all stupid and these days, I run out of patience while giving interviews,” says the impatient actor. He emphasises on the fact that he is the worst person to interview and is devoid of any patience or charm. [caption id=“attachment_4430487” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Rishi Kapoor in a still from 102 Not Out. YouTube[/caption] Lest anyone asks, he announces in the beginning itself that the beard he has grown is meant for an upcoming film that he has just signed. Soon thereafter, he interrupts to announce that that tea has been well made. After the first sip of tea has been savoured, he gives the go ahead to fire salvos. So is age just a number to him? The fangs come out enquiring why a personal question is being asked but when he is reminded that he is playing a 75-year-old in the film, the actor calms down. “I am very happy to tell you that I am 65 running 66 and I have no qualms about it. I don’t think I have had a better period in my life ever and I am enjoying every bit of it. If you say that age is just a number, then you should see Amitabh Bachchan who is telling the same thing to his son in the film.” After laurels came his way through films like Do Dooni Chaar, Agneepath and Kapoor and Sons, it is evident that the actor has now tasted blood. “I have no interest in portraying roles of hero/heroine’s father as I am too expensive for such roles. I only want to do characters irrespective of the length of the role. I don’t want anyone to pat my shoulders but you guys never realise the fact that I make all my characters look different and there is no Rishi Kapoor in it. In those days, even if there were hatke films being made by Gulzar or Hrishikesh Mukherji, they used to opt for other actors and never gave me a chance. Its only because of Mr Bachchan that actors of my age are getting work as by 45, you are supposed to retire.” The film also reunites him with Bachchan after 27 years. So out of the six films they have done together, which was the one he enjoyed the most? “Amar Akbar Anthony by miles. It’s more like a Charlie Chaplin film which is enjoyed by people of all ages. I get nostalgic seeing that film. Its illogical but it’s a terrific and an evergreen film appreciated by all ages.” Talking in the same breath, did he ever realise while shooting for Ajooba that the film was going nowhere? “Even Amar Akbar Anthony  was going nowhere but the film had lots of entertainment. We are here to entertain and not to educate. If you are making an art film then show it on TV for free because no one is going to come and see it in theatres anyway. In such cases, they should levy education tax and not entertainment tax.” Ask him if there was any stage in his career when he felt unappreciated and the response is met with a ‘good question’. “It’s entirely my fault because I never gave the critics and audiences any reason to like me. I was only busy romancing heroines and signing songs wearing sweaters in Kashmir, Ooty and Switzerland. I never got characters to play in my films while my contemporaries had all kind of roles to play. I am not complaining here. I am happy to say that I survived nonstop for 25 years doing such kind of roles and not even Dev Anand could manage the feat,” clarifies the actor. But he surely did a film in the ’90s which sort of gave audiences an idea that he was making an effort to break out of his own mould. “I did not try to change any course through Khoj. The film did not work because the distributors forced us to change the end. Naseer, Danny and myself fought so much to retain the original climax but the director reasoned that no one will come to theatres if they find out that Rishi Kapoor is in a negative role. I don’t want to use the words but agents of films are like pimps, they bloody change the whole film.” Before the interview ends, surely there is just enough time to ask the evergreen actor if he liked Ranbir in the teaser of Sanju. “The stuff is good. I have seen that boy working day and night just to look different and how much he worked for the role. He starved himself, grew his hair and did other things. I was really concerned that the role does not become caricaturish but when you have Raju Hirani, there is not much to worry. He was treading on a sharp object and the teaser could have gone either way.”