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Ahead of the release of Dil Dhadakne Do, Anil Kapoor talks about it all - from his on-screen kids Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra to his off-screen daughter Sonam. Excerpts from an interview:
Dil Dhadakne Do sees you playing a father to Ranveer Singh and Priyanka Chopra. Did you have any apprehensions about your role?
No, for me, all that matters is the character. You can't be narrow-minded and say, It's a father's role, so I'm not going to do it.' When Marlon Brando was offered The Godfather, he did not say Oh, I can't play a father.' Or when Daniel Day Lewis was offered the role of Abraham Lincoln, he didn't say, No, he is too old. Can we make Lincoln 20-something instead?' So when they offered me the role, I did not tell them, No, no. Give me Ranveer or Farhan's (Akhtar) role instead. Let me also have some fun with Anushka (Sharma) or Priyanka.' (laughs)
Ranveer is in awe of your performance in the film. He even stated that everybody from the cast is replaceable except you...
He's just being very generous. Everybody in this film is replaceable. In fact, everybody in this world is replaceable. That's something one should always remember. The day you think you are irreplaceable, your downfall begins. There is always someone who is better than you - maybe more talented, maybe more good-looking, maybe more hardworking. So I'm just thankful that I'm still here and I get good work.
Coming to your daughter Sonam Kapoor, she is a fashion icon of sorts. Do you take tips from her?
No, no, I don't take fashion tips from her. Instead, I am the one who gives her fashion tips (laughs).
She got flak for one of her appearances at Cannes this year. What was your reaction to it?
I'm very proud of what she does at Cannes every year. I thought she was fabulous this year too.
After Aisha and Khoobsurat, you're producing Neerja which is probably Sonam's most ambitious project to date. Your views?
I don't know whether this will be the film that she will be the proudest of because you can't predict such things. When we were making Khoobsurat, everyone said, Arey, aap kya remake bana rahe ho? Kuch naya banao.' But then, she got maximum appreciation for it. When she did Aisha, no one else was doing a female-oriented film. She was the first one to do it, especially in the younger crop of actresses. At that time, only established actresses were doing women-oriented films. But Rhea, Sonam and the whole family, we had a vision. (pauses)
Go on...
We made women-oriented films way back in 2010. Now suddenly, everyone is like, Look at these girls. They are doing women-oriented films.' All I want to say is, Arey bhai, we had done it way before you guys.' We knew that these films won't make as much money as the leading heroes' films do, but they will make some profits. We took that risk. So what if their films don't make as much money as the heroes'? I think the press and media demoralise actresses so much that they don't give them a chance to rise at all.
Finally, the first season of your show 24 got a rousing reception. When can we expect the next season?
We are done with 10-12 episodes of writing. We'll start shooting after the monsoon. Let's see how it all pans out.
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