Actor and singer Annu Kapoor turns 68 today on February 20. In an exclusive conversation with Lehren, he spoke about his role of Veer Savarkar in the movie "Kaalapani" directed by Priyadarshan and his TV game show "Antakshari" as a host.
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00:00 No one can cheat in the field of singing.
00:02 My ears are surreal. I am not a singer.
00:04 Because I know what is good singing.
00:05 My list of failures is very long.
00:08 I would say that I have never done a bad work.
00:12 I have never done a bad work.
00:13 What is your first impression of your family?
00:22 Family...
00:27 Life is a very different kind of life.
00:30 There are many responsibilities.
00:32 There are many commitments.
00:34 It is a very difficult thing.
00:38 I...
00:40 Coincidentally, the girl I have married...
00:46 We have similar thoughts.
00:51 She is also a nationalistic girl like me.
00:55 Similarly, when the press asked her...
00:59 How are you feeling getting married to a Punjabi?
01:02 She said, "I am sorry, I am not married to a Punjabi. I am married to an Indian."
01:06 So, she is an Indian and I am also an Indian.
01:10 Your voice is so beautiful.
01:13 Did you want to become a singer or...
01:16 By chance, now you got into acting.
01:19 I didn't want to become a singer or an actor.
01:22 I wanted to become a surgeon.
01:24 But...
01:26 My parents were poor folks.
01:28 So, they couldn't afford my further studies.
01:33 So, I had to join the theatre out of helplessness.
01:36 In my life, everything happened out of helplessness.
01:39 I became an actor.
01:41 Then, suddenly...
01:44 I got a close-up of Antarkshari.
01:47 People started listening to my songs.
01:51 Actually, I wanted to become a surgeon.
01:54 Now, I have nothing left.
01:58 I am neither an actor nor a singer.
02:00 Have you taken any classical singing training?
02:05 Struggle never left time to take any training.
02:11 Especially, classical singing.
02:13 With good people, with learned people...
02:18 If you get a little bit of blessings...
02:21 If you sit with good people...
02:23 If you sit with learned people...
02:25 You can learn a lot from them.
02:28 I would say that my company was of very good people.
02:31 I have listened to very big people.
02:34 I have sat with them and listened to them for hours.
02:37 So, after listening...
02:39 I am not a singer but my ears are melodious.
02:41 No one can cheat me in singing.
02:44 My ears are melodious.
02:45 I am not a singer.
02:46 Because I know what is good singing.
02:48 Normally, in your movies...
02:50 Your role, whether it is small or big...
02:52 It leaves a mark.
02:54 There is a lot of...
02:56 It was a small role but it made a very important mark.
03:00 How do you try to portray it?
03:04 Or do you select the role after reading the script?
03:08 Or do you make it like that?
03:12 Initially, I got such roles...
03:16 Maybe some producers and directors...
03:19 They liked my talent.
03:26 I don't look like a hero...
03:30 To be given a role like Aamir Khan or Shahrukh Khan.
03:34 Whatever I was given...
03:36 I tried to do it with honesty and hard work.
03:40 How successful I am in it...
03:42 Or whether I am failing...
03:44 That is a different thing.
03:45 I believe in doing everything with sincerity.
03:50 Otherwise, I am not interested in doing anything.
03:53 My last film was...
03:57 Drohokaal was released by Govind Nailani.
04:00 I haven't done any film after that.
04:02 I am not doing any film nowadays.
04:04 And the last film I shot was Kala Pani.
04:06 I shot that in March 1995.
04:10 So, you are not doing any films now?
04:13 There is no offer like this...
04:15 For someone who wants to do it.
04:17 I made my own film in 1994.
04:20 For kids.
04:21 I got the President Award for Direction in 1995.
04:25 And I also got the award for Direction from Shantaram.
04:30 So, I am finding somewhere else for my creativity and frustration.
04:38 Anuj, tell me one thing...
04:41 Whatever you do, you are very successful in that.
04:45 No, you got the wrong information.
04:48 My list of failures is very long.
04:51 So, what is the reason for that?
04:53 You started with a simple thing in Antarktis.
04:57 You did not click.
05:00 And you made it so big.
05:02 Antarktis is selling only because of you.
05:05 No, there are many things that count.
05:08 Destiny and time are very important.
05:11 And failure and success...
05:17 It is there.
05:20 Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you fail.
05:24 But I would say that I have never done a bad work in my life.
05:31 I have never done a bad work.
05:33 Whether it worked or not is a different thing.
05:36 But I have never done a bad work.
05:38 I can give you a guarantee for that.
05:40 If I make a film, I am making a TV serial.
05:44 I made a film in 1994.
05:46 I cannot make a bad film.
05:48 Maybe I will make a bad film.
05:51 I cannot make a bad film.
05:54 Any important incident which took place while shooting?
05:58 Which has touched you a lot?
06:01 Any such scene or incident?
06:04 There is a program called 'Sound and Light'
06:17 In which I incorporated a poem written by Veer Savarkar.
06:23 I liked that poem so much
06:26 that I could not even describe it for 4 hours.
06:34 I could not describe what I was feeling.
06:39 Your words get lost at a point
06:42 when your emotions start running so fast.
06:48 The intensity of those emotions becomes so high
06:50 that you find that you cannot describe it.
06:54 Words do not give you support.
06:58 They do not give you support at all.
07:00 There is a scene where we are all in a cell
07:05 and there is a very violent prisoner.
07:10 He asks Veer Savarkar,
07:12 "Dada, how did you manage to live in this mad house?"
07:21 Veer Savarkar says with a smile,
07:29 "In this violent environment of torture and machinations,
07:38 if I could see a ray of hope and life,
07:41 it would be the chirping of birds and the sound of a bulbul outside my cell.
07:49 In this violent environment of torture and machinations,
07:53 if I could see a ray of hope and life,
07:56 it would be the chirping of birds and the sound of a bulbul outside my cell.
08:01 If I knew their language,
08:04 I would teach them songs of patriotism.
08:06 If someone heard these songs,
08:08 he would say that the song of patriotism
08:11 that the bulbul sings outside his cell
08:13 must be that of Veer Savarkar.
08:15 So, I was very impressed by this.
08:20 Thank you.
08:23 [Music]
08:33 [BLANK_AUDIO]