Anil Kapoor

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anil Kapoor

• Does Anil Kapoor smoke?: No (Quit)

• Does Anil Kapoor drink alcohol?: Yes 

• Anil was born and brought up in Chembur, Mumbai to a Punjabi family of film producers.

• Initially, his family used to live in Raj Kapoor‘s garage in Mumbai, but later they shifted to the “chawl” area of the city.

• He has also worked in Raj Kapoor’s garage to financially support his family.

• Anil had a habit of playing and running bare feet in his childhood.

• His father was a renowned film producer who earlier used to work as Shammi Kapoor‘s Secretary.

• He was denied admission in Pune Film Institute, as he failed the written examination there. 

• Although his debut was Hamare Tumhare, he shot for “Tu Payal Mein Geet” first when he was just 14, but due to some circumstances, the film went unreleased.

• In 1983, he got his first lead role in a Hindi film titled “Woh Saat Din” and his character- Prem Pratap Singh became a household name.

  

• His role in the movie Mashaal, opposite Dilip Kumar, added a feather to his career cap; as he signed two films- Jaanbaz and Mere Jung on the night of the premiere of Mashaal.

• The same night, he went to his then-girlfriend, Sunita’s house and proposed her for marriage.

• Apart from acting, he is a trained semi-classical singer and has sung songs like “Pyaar Kiya Nahi Jata” from Woh Saat Din and the title track of the 1986 Bollywood comedy Chameli Ki Shaadi.

• On 19 May 1984, he tied the knot with the love of his life- Sunita, and they have three children- two daughters named Sonam and Rhea and one son named Harshvardhan.

  

• His 1985 flick ‘Meri Jung’ was the turning point of his career, which labelled him as “Mature” in the Indian cinema. At first, he was offered the role of a villain, but he ended up in the lead role. Here’s a glimpse of a famous scene from the movie:

• Anil, along with Salma Agha, came up with his pop album titled “Welcome” in 1986, in which he sang all the songs with Salma and music was by Bappi Lahiri. 

• In 1987, in his film Mr India, he was seen in the same pair of clothes and hat in all the scenes, but Amitabh Bachchan was the first choice for his role. 

• He created a benchmark in Indian cinema with his incredible performance in the movie- Tezaab. Just a few days prior to the release of the movie, he shot for a scene on the railway track and it was added to the final cut of the movie, a day before the release of the movie.

• He is popularly known worldwide for his signature word ‘Jhakaas’! 

• For his movie- Nayak-The Real Hero, he did 7 months of gym training for a 3D fighting scene, which became very famous afterwards. However, at the time of the shoot, Anil refused to shave his body hair, and it was planned on the spot to smear him with mud.

• Badhaai Ho Badhaai was his first production, followed by My Wife’s Murder in 2005, Gandhi, My Father, and many more.

• In an interview with a magazine, Anil revealed that it was the hardest to shoot for the mud fighting scene; as it was very difficult for him to apply and remove Multani Mitti again and again, as it gets dried up in few minutes. 

• He is the only actor who has been in all the three parts of the Race movie series- Race, Race 2, Race 3, in the role of detective Robert D’ Costa, who is a funny-cum intelligent cop. 

• In 2008, he did his first International film- Slumdog Millionaire, in which he played the role of Prem Kumar, the game’s show host, and the movie won 8 Academy Awards (Oscar) in different categories.

• In an interview with Preity Zinta on her talk show, Anil Kapoor revealed that he first talked to Sunita on phone and fell in love with her voice, and with time, they came closer to each other and their love story started.

• In 2010, he was featured in American TV Series titled “24” as Kamistan President Omar Hassan and then also in Indian TV Series on the same name of the American- 24, as the lead actor- Jai Singh Rathod.

• For his phenomenal contribution to Cinema, Anil Kapoor was honoured with a Wax Statue at Madame Tussauds in Singapore.

  

• During the entire shoot of Dil Dhadakne Do, he was not allowed to show his look and was given a bandanna to cover his head. Moreover, it took around 100 hours to design Anil’s hairstyle for the film.

  

• He once compared himself with a bottle of French wine, which gets better and better with age.

• In 2017, he played a full-fledged Sardar look for the very first time in his career in the film- Mubarakan.

• He is Ranveer Singh‘s uncle, as his wife is the first cousin of Ranveer’s father.

• He is very much self-obsessed; as he disclosed that whenever he finds some source or alternative of a mirror, he stops for a while and watches himself and boost his self-confidence.

• Anil has quit smoking after his daughter, Sonam Kapoor entered Bollywood, as he promised her to do so after the start of her career.

• In 2018, he was starred in Total Dhamaal, along with Madhuri Dixit after 18 long years and also Ajay Devgn.

  

• He considers his positivity and eating habits the biggest reason behind his great health and physique.

• On 20 September 2023, the Delhi High Court issued an order against the unauthorized utilization of Anil Kapoor’s name, image, and voice for commercial purposes. The court order stated that using his name, voice, and likeness in an unlawful manner, especially for commercial gain, would not be allowed. ^[1]Mint