Anil Kapoor on Thank You for Coming, Slumdog Millionaire, and bridging Bollywood and Hollywood
The Indian screen legend sits down with Q’s Tom Power to look back on his life in film
As a stalwart of Indian cinema for the past 40 years, Anil Kapoor is a veteran actor with more than 100 credits to his name, but his latest movie, Thank You for Coming, is unlike anything he's done before.
Thank You for Coming is a Hindi sex-positive comedy about a 32-year-old single woman who's never had an orgasm — until one drunken night. The only problem is, she's not sure who gave it to her.
Kapoor is one of the film's producers (he also makes a cameo as a silver fox professor) along with his daughter, Rhea Kapoor. Thank You for Coming was directed by Kapoor's son-in-law, Karan Boolani, which makes the project a bit of a family affair.
In a conversation with Q's Tom Power during last month's Toronto International Film Festival, Kapoor talks about the groundbreaking new movie and reflects on his life in film. Here are some highlights from their conversation.
On working with family
It's tough making a film with the family. It is not that easy…. I am a little brutal, you know, at least when I'm working. For me, when I make choices in the film, and if I see something and I don't like it, or whatever it is, they want very honest feedback from me.
Making films and acting in films is what I love, so I cannot be dishonest with it. And then, of course, you have to be so brutally honest with your family. And it doesn't matter if she's my daughter or he's my son-in-law. If I don't like something, I'll have to say it honestly. And that's what I do. So it's painful.
WATCH | Official trailer for Thank You for Coming:
On being cast in Slumdog Millionaire
[Director Danny Boyle] must have seen some of my work and he felt that I was the right choice. The executive producer was trying to get in touch with me. They sent me the script and they said, "Danny Boyle is directing the film." And to be honest with you, I was aware of him, but I'd forgotten about him. I didn't know who he was.
My son was a huge fan of Trainspotting and I was in the U.K. for some shows and he had asked me to get the poster for Trainspotting…. He was a huge fan of Danny Boyle, he was a young kid, you know? And then he says, "Dad, that's Danny Boyle. He's the director of Trainspotting. After Titanic the next film DiCaprio did was The Beach and he did it with Danny Boyle, there must be something special about this director."
I said, "Done, I'm going to do this film." He said, "Read the script!" And I said, "No, I'm doing this."
WATCH | Clip from Slumdog Millionaire:
On the difference between Bollywood and Hollywood
What really surprised me when I came to shoot for 24, I was in Los Angeles for six months, and the way they shoot television over here, it's massive! There's about 300 or 400 people, you know, it's massive, the scripts are coming in, and the prep and the detailing…. And I said, "Oh, wow, this is terrific. I never imagined that television can be so huge."
And then of course, I was privileged and honoured to be part of Mission: Impossible 4.... That also came as a very big surprise to me, you know, the budgets and the massiveness of the studio film. We don't have those kinds of budgets in India.
WATCH | Anil Kapoor's interview with Tom Power:
The full interview with Anil Kapoor is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with Anil Kapoor produced by Ben Edwards.