With uncertainty regarding his career kicked out of the window, the 28-year-old actor is reveling in his success.With uncertainty regarding his career kicked out of the window, the 28-year-old actor is reveling in his success. “The phase before Kaminey was more about ‘will he, won’t he’. People wondered why I was not attempting to establish myself in a space I was being liked in. But post-Kaminey, there’s a sense of achievement. That my father (thespian Pankaj Kapur), an actor of that calibre, thought I convincingly pulled off two different characters in the same space…it means a lot to me,” says Kapoor.
But then there’s no bigger achievement, he adds, than audience approval. He confesses the movie has also increased his reach—his film has been received well by both urban as well as mass audiences. “I may be over it but there’s a huge Kaminey hangover in people’s mind. And though I, as Charlie, said it to Guddu with all sincerity and seriousness, ‘Manhoof!’ is what made people laugh the most, which is so flattering.”
Even his body language has a new streak of confidence as Kapoor talks of his back-to-back shooting schedule. There have been offers, but his hands are full for now. “There’s Ken Ghosh’s Chance Pe Dance, Parmeet Sethi’s next—again under the YRF banner — and then, his father’s film. I leave for the US for a month soon after Hadippa’s release; I’ll be shooting for Parmeet’s film where I am paired opposite Anushka Sharma. By the time I return, it’ll be time to promote Chance Pe Dance.”
His name may spell ‘big league’ now but he maintains that he isn’t a part of a race. “I don’t believe in competition; it merely adds to the stress. Instead, what I appreciate is that today, my name can draw a certain number of people to the theatre,” says the young actor, adding, “Besides, what can be more precious than hearing people shout behind you: ‘Ae Fahid, kaifa hai yaar’.”
