Boney Kapoor calls his son an accomplished star and a complete package. In a freewheeling chat with Karan Bhardwaj, he shares his plans of casting Arjun, Sridevi and Anil Kapoor in Mr India’s sequel
Fabulous, an accomplished actor and a complete package…” that’s how father Boney Kapoor describes his son Arjun Kapoor, who will be seen next in Boney’s next production Tevar. The producer never forced Arjun to make any choice and has no regrets that he turned down his two scripts and chose Yash Raj Films over his home production to take off his career. “Arjun is an independent child but he always calls me for professional matters, be it acting or endorsements. I offer him suggestions and he takes the final call,” says Boney adding that he is happy that his son was nourished by so many directors and producers before he finally got on board for Tevar.
“Ishaqzaade was the best thing happened to him since he didn’t depend on his father or my production house to launch him. When you start with your home banner, then there is constant burden on the family as well as the actor. The expectations are sky high. But YRF launched him just like any other newcomer and he had to carve his own niche. He has done it admirably. He has learnt a lot while dabbling in different genres with Finding Fanny, Gunday, Aurangzeb and 2 States. Each of these production house has their own approach towards filmmaking. I’m sure he has learnt from his experiences,” he says.
Tevar is an action flick and suits the aggressive persona that Arjun presently carries. That is the only reason why he was the best choice for Boney. However, he says Arjun came with his own terms and conditions. “We were always trying to work out the best deal for him as well as the production house. He was keen on doing this movie but only with a Mumbai-based director. Unlike my previous films, which were directed by South Indian filmmakers, Tevar was directed by Amit Sharma, a prolific adman from Mumbai.
They bonded pretty well and I think Amit has this knack of extracting the best from actors as well as non-actors,” he says. Boney is himself bowled by his son’s acting skills. He says, “I’m stunned to see how effortlessly he did some casual scenes which I believe is the toughest part of an actor’s job. For this, you need to be spontaneous. He has perfect timing and dialogue delivery and he always understands his character,” he says.
Boney has made films such as Mr India, Judaai, Pukar, Hum Paanch and Roop ki Rani Choron Ka Raja in the 80s and 90s. For over three decades, he has observed the industry closely and says that producing a film has become more systematic than before. “There’s a lot more transparency in dealings and stakeholders have become more disciplined. The costs have gone up for sure but at the same time, you have dedicated professionals in areas which were lying dormant for years.
With studios coming in, distribution has become easier. They bring a lot to the table besides funding. They have access to things which a producer would get through distributors. We have better control on planning the release. Accounting systems have improved, there’re no underarm dealings anymore. Actors have also become more educated about film business. Key personnel also understand where we are heading so by and large, it is better,” he says. However, the best change that he finds now is the acceptance of content-driven cinema. The line between commercial and non-commercial movies is being blurred and that every film, be it content-driven or mainstream, has got the audience’s support. “Content is the king and it will be more underlined in times to come. Out of the box movies like English Vinglish, Kahaani, Queen or The lunchbox are getting support from well-minded studios which have budgets for these movies.
Earlier, good cinema was categorised as arty but today these films are also minting money, thanks to the smart marketing. English Vinglish scored over $1.5 million in Japan. It’s only because of well-planned marketing by the studios,” he says. In his long career, Boney has also made several path-breaking movies and faced financial crunch due to series of flops. Recently, he distributed award-winning movie Tere Bin laden. He says he picks up scripts that interests him and do not follow any particular cinema. “I’m like a common man, not a pseudo-intellectual. I have made my choices and stuck to them. I have never been conditioned. When I made Mr India, everybody thought I was committing a blunder. People would go to my father and say I’ll ruin him. The protagonist was invisible in the film.
When I made Hum Paanch, most of my father’s financers and distributors left him. They couldn’t digest how a heroine got raped in the beginning and remained pregnant throughout the film. But they all had conventional approach of looking at cinema. I broke that. Most of the characters wore same clothes and there was makeup involved. It was a path-breaking film. Then I did Woh Saat Din, which introduced actor in Anil Kapoor,” he says. He suffered a major setback with flops like Kyun Ho Gaya Na, Khushi, Shakti, Run and Bewafaa. But the producer says he has learnt his lessons and will act wiser. “It was a mix of good and bad decisions. I will be more conscious in taking my decisions,” he says.
After Tevar, he looks forward to sequels of Mr India and No Entry. “We have a concept of Mr India. It will have my son, wife and brother (Anil Kapoor) for sure,” he says.