Архив форума Индомания

Sharad Kapoor - A Hero for Hope

By: Jasmeen Dugal

Did you face problems when you first arrived in the industry, a newcomer without any "godfather"?

My career began with Mahesh Bhatt's Dastak. And within a short span of time, my life took a U turn for the better. Within a few months of my arrival in the industry, I had signed over two dozen films and it all seemed like a dream. I grabbed every film that came my way because I had nobody in this line to guide me. With my lack of experience, most of the films turned out to be bad and flopped at the box-office. I was stuck acting in a couple of sub-standard films that I had signed, without big banners to back them. By the time I realized that things were going wrong, my films released and flopped miserably. I was lucky that I had a few good projects like Khauff and Josh or else my career would have been completely wiped out. Josh was like a second lease of life for my career. After the film hit the jackpot, I've got a lot of positive response from the film industry and this time around I'm choosy about the films I sign.

Tell us about Lal Salaam?

Lal Salaam is based on the life of Prakash Amte (my character), who is the son of a social reformer, Baba Amte. Prakash has worked with Adivasis and I was initially approached to play an Adivasi. But, Nandita Das who also stars in the film refused to do it, if I were to play the Adivasi. She insisted that I did not look like an Adivasi from any angle. I even called her up to convince her that I'd do my best to look like the tribal. But, she refused and asked me to play Prakash. So, the director met up with Prakash Amte (a real life character!) and gave me the details on his character, mannerisms, the way he speaks, walks and carries himself. But, I haven't been able to meet him yet even though I'm portraying his character, because I've been shooting outdoors all this while.

We hear you do a lot for the poor, and towards charity. What is your latest project?

I have been associated with Sunil Shetty's Heroes For Hope.

So how come you're getting into the restaurant business?

Well, I'm just following the path led by my brother Tillu who is a partner in Tangerine, a new restaurant in Kolkata. Based on his enthusiasm and success, I'm currently working out plans to start my own restaurant called The Destination in suburban Mumbai.

Planetbollywood.com