24th December is the Birthday of “Fitness personified” Anil Kapoor. It really is unbelievable how Anil has maintained his fitness over what is now almost 40 years as an actor in the Hindi film industry. He has shown himself to be an inspiration in this respect. He is also known for acting in some unusual movies and portraying unusual characters throughout his career.
Hum Paanch was an unusual adaptation of the Mahabharata in which roles of Krishna, Bhima and Arjun were played by Sanjeev Kumar, Mithun and Raj Babbar. Anil Kapoor had a cameo in this movie which was the 1st movie produced by Boney Kapoor, and both brothers had a long and fruitful association together.
However, his 1st two breakthrough movies were Woh Saat Din and Mashaal in which none other than actors of the level of Naseeruddin Shah and Dilip Kumar were there. Yet Anil held his own and his performances were highly appreciated. In fact, for Mashaal, he got the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Interestingly the role had been first offered to Amitabh Bachchan and then to Kamal Hassan who had declined it.
Anil swiftly rose to the top with landmark movies. To name a few of them, they are Saaheb, Karma, Chameli Ki Shaadi, Jaanbaaz, Ram Lakhan, Tezaab, Mr. India and Kishen Kanhaiya. In the 80’s as well as 90’s he acted in many such hit movies. His trademark dialogue Jhakaas was 1st in the movie Yudh and then he repeated it in many movies.
In the 2000’s Anil made a strategic shift by slightly cutting down on Hindi movies and doing some international projects as well. He is one of the most recognized actors of Hindi film Industry abroad. Slumdog Millionaire was his 1st Hollywood movie and he shone in the role of the game show host Prem Kumar. He also did hit movies such as Nayak, Calcutta Mail, and Shootout at Wadala as well.
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Anil later did an American TV serial 24 which was a huge success. Incredibly 24 was a Fox show and Anil was invited on the Today Show by rival channel NBC which had never happened before and no Fox Star had ever been invited on NBC.
Asked how he remains so fit Anil says “Aha, I was always lean and thin, before it became fashionable. The secret formula is healthy living, positive thinking, no late nights and plenty of work.”
Anil goes on to says that discipline, diet, sleeping well and remaining positive are the secrets. One of the fittest stars Ranveer Singh says that Anil who is much older than him continuously kept him inspired and gave the example of a 5 am shoot where Anil woke up at 0345 hours to do his cardio so that he would look fresh for the camera. Incredible and inspirational, isn’t it?
Happy Jhakaas Birthday Anil Kapoor and looking forward to more great work from you.
Ritesh Misra is an IRS officer currently based in Mumbai. He blogs & tweets @riteshmisra.
The post Happy Birthday Anil Kapoor: From Jhakaas To Oscars – The Man Who Ruled What He Did appeared first on Koimoi.
