“A lot of actors say that it boils down to just the script. Would you do a film just because of an amazing script and not a director?” Harshvardhan Kapoor makes a fair point and it is so refreshing to see a star kid talk talk objectively rather than donning the diplomatic hat. He wanted his debut with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and his second film to be with Vikram Aditya Motwane and he made sure that happened.
Speaking to Rajeev Masand on CNN News 18, he says, “Your path cannot be a reflection of someone else, it has to be your own.” If this Kapoor scion performs as well as he talks, then there is definitely no looking back.
I Wanted To Be A Writer- Director
“I went through a phase of wanting to be a writer-director and went to Chapman University in Southern California and studied writing for four years. In the course of studying writing, I studied acting for a year and then thought if I am meant to be an actor. Watching Badlands by Terrence Malick changed my life. I realised how many generations of filmmakers have been inspired by this film. Tree Of Life by the same director led me to Badlands which led me to The Edge of Heaven followed by New World and now Terrence Malick is my favourite filmmaker.”
“The kind of films that I am doing are films that I would love to watch as well. There are a lot of films that I gravitate towards being made locally.”
I Pushed My Father To Work With Danny Boyle and Zoya Akhtar
“For Slumdog Millionaire, there was no reference point for him. I read the script when I was sixteen and was old enough to understand as I was watching films from all over the world. I had watched Trainspotting, The Beach and Shallow Grave and was familiar with Danny Boyle’s films. I forced him to meet Danny Boyle and he told me, “I only have ten days to shoot.” But he is the main antagonist of the film. With Dil Dhadakne Do, his reservation was playing an older character and I convinced him to take it up as Zoya Akhtar is amazing and the Indian audience is familiar with her work.”
I Don’t Really Enjoy the Aneez Bazmi- David Dhawan Phase In My Father’s Filmography
“I grew up in the 90s so I reflected a lot of my dad’s work after I had grown up. I remember watching Parinda as a sixteen-year-old and was blown away. I didn’t know that film was out there. I think it is the one of the best Anil Kapoor films but not the best Anil Kapoor performances. There are better ones out there. Out of his filmography, I gravitate more towards Virasat, Nayak, Woh Saath Din, Lamhe and Pukaar .”
“David Uncle, Rohit and Varun (Dhawan) are family and the memory I have of the films made with him have to be the outdoors where Varun and I were fooling around. I remember having a great time with Varun in my summer vacations and not necessarily spending time on set.”
No One Knows Anything In the Film Business Anymore
“We have had such a bad year that it is scary. I am just thankful that two of my films have got financing. I feel very fortunate and blessed and that is completely because of the directors helming these films. But there are things that need to be addressed. Maybe the GST will help us, maybe the ticket prices need to be reduced. I don’t know what the solution is but there is something wrong that we are doing.”
Don’t Listen To People When They Say, ‘Become an Assistant Director’
"Everyone said that you should assist a director before becoming an actor. Normally I don’t listen to people but this time I did. From my perspective, I don’t think actors need to do that. Instead, do acting workshops, travel, watch a lot of films, audition... these are the things that you learn a lot from. If you want to be a director, then it helps if you assist a director, just like if you want to be a producer - work in production.”
“Speaking of Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap is behind Satya, Dev D, Black Friday, Gangs Of Wasseypur 1& 2 and deserved to make Bombay Velvet. People don’t make such films after going through a lifetime. How many times will he go and make an indie. I was a very small piece in the puzzle as I was just interning but I feel it has so much material. It would have been great as an eight part mini-series and trying to condense it hurt the film. I am dying to see Anurag make a big film now because he is a great director.”
I Know When I Am Bad and When Really Bad
“I would like to believe that I am objective. I criticise Sonam or dad if I feel that they could have done something better. I am objective about myself as well and I know if I have done something worth talking about and I know when I am bad or really bad. I think it is important to know those things early on.”
(Source : CNN News18)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)