Learner's LICENCE

ACTING ACE ANIL KAPOOR TELLS TANZIM PARDIWALLA THAT HE'D ALWAYS BE A STUDENT, BE IT LIFE OR HIS CRAFT

- TANZIM PARDIWALLA

What is the key to not only becoming a Bollywood success story but also maintaining that success for decades? If you ask Anil Kapoor, the answer is surprisingly easy - you keep learning from even more successful people. In the past few years, the star has experimented with a slew of wildly different films ranging from the audacious meta-film AK VS AK, where he played himself, Thar in which he played a hardboiled cop and collaborated with his son Harsh Varrdhan Kapoor to the star-studded family drama Jug Jugg Jeeyo, where he played a man undergoing mid-life crisis. Adding to his busy catalogue, he recently made his OTT series debut with The Night Manager. The series which reunites him with his Malang co-star Aditya Roy Kapur, is the Indian adaptation of the eponomously titled British series starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. As he muses on trusting his "gut" and what it takes to play the bad guy, Anil Kapoor opens up about what makes him tick even after decades of facing the arclights.

You have a filmography full of iconic roles. Where would say The Night Manager fits in the larger context?

Well, I guess we'll have to wait and watch. But I think it will be one of the top roles on my list. I've been fortunate that I have gotten the opportunity to team up with so many filmmakers, writers and coactors. I think this will be one of the good characters. It will definitely be among the ones I will remember fondly.

How easy or hard is it to play out a book-to-screen adaptation?