Anil's silver jubilee

Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor entered the film industry as a supporting artiste in 1980, with films like Shakti, Humare Tumhare and Ek Baar Kaho.

Then he did Woh Saat Din (1983), and there was no looking back. Anil tells us why these 25 films are special to him…

Woh Saat Din
It made me a star and a saleable commodity.

Saheb
It was a great script and so powerful, that it was remade in all south Indian languages and was successful in all of them.

Mashaal
It was the biggest break a newcomer could imagine, since I was pitted against the great Dilip Kumar. I was on the cover of all film magazines and won my first Filmfare, for Best Supporting Actor.

Karma
My first blockbuster. It got me critical and commercial acclaim.

Chameli Ki Shaadi
One of the sweetest comedies ever made.

Mr India
A true classic. There are no words to describe a perfect, aesthetically made commercial blockbuster. My second hit.

Andar Bahar
My first tapori role.

Eshwar
I got my first letter from Amitabh Bachchan, praising my performance. Got an overwhelming response across the industry.

Tezaab
The first week collections were more than the collections of any other film ever released! I won my first Best Actor trophy.

Meri Jung
The film responsible for my marriage. I proposed to Sunita the day I signed it. We got married the next day, and the day after that, I went on an outdoor shoot.

Ram Lakhan
Ae ji, o ji almost became a national anthem and people said, 'Ek do teen char, Anil Kapoor is a superstar'.

Parinda
Vinod Chopra's best film. He came with Rs 19 in his pocket to make a film with me. It sent shock waves through the industry when I signed it.

Kishan Kanhaiya
My first double role. One of my favourite entertainers. Rakesh Roshan never looked back after this.

1942 — A Love Story
R D Burman, Javed Akhtar and Binod Pradhan's best work. Sanjay Leela Bhansali was the director of songs.

Lamhe
It feels good when Yash Chopra tells me this is his best film ever.

Beta
It won me the Filmfare Best Actor award. It was a script that had belonged to Boney and me and we gave it to Ashok Thakeria and Indra Kumar, opting for their Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja. They became one of the biggest filmmakers, while we went down in the dumps.

Viraasat
It swept all awards for Best Actor, popular and critical. The greatest compliment I got, was from Kamal Hassan (who had acted in the Tamil version), 'my daughter has gone into the right hands and will be looked after better than I could look after her.'

Taal
It opened up the overseas market and I swept all the awards, including Filmfare. I lost the National Award by one vote. A R Rahman's best original music in Hindi.

Biwi No 1
It was a blockbuster in direct opposition to the World Cup. I swept all the awards for Best Supporting Role. My gamble paid off, by not doing the hero's role, which was offered to me first.

Judaai
It was professional hara-kiri playing a weak husband. I did it for emotional reasons but the gamble paid off.

Pukar
My first National Award and definitely one of my best works. I didn't agree with the climax and kept banging my head against two walls —Boney and Raj Kumar Santoshi.

My Wife's Murder
After Eshwar, this was a film for which I got the best feedback. I was bombarded with SMSes after this.

No Entry
A project in which I have done everything possible — from waking up the actors, to convincing the heroines to wear their costumes — and trying to convince the creditors to trust the family.

Salaam-E-Ishq
I thoroughly enjoyed working in the film and am looking forward to the release.

Welcome
Again I play a tapori — a role the masses identity me with and my directors feel I haven't done enough of. Again a sure-shot script.

As told to Upala KBR