Rajat Kapoor, National Award winning actor says Box Office matters more than awards,
Rajat Kapoor, as an actor rarely falters. The actor is three-time National Award winning director. It comes as no surprise as he delivers another noteworthy performance in Lootere, streaming on Disney+Hotstar. Yet, in his vast filmography which includes movies like Drishyam, Mulk, Kapoor & Sons, Dil Chahta Hai and Bheja Fry, he considers the part of the captain of the ship in Lootere as an exception.
He has done 50 films. He is not a fan of pirate dramas for, according to him, there is hardly any such genre and only few films internationally fall in this category. He feels that Lootere is essentially a gangster thriller.
With the series having won much appreciations, he lauds its young director Jay Mehta. He can’t say whether Jay, son of celebrated director Hansal Mehta, is his father’s son but pats him on the back not just for his technical brilliance but passion and perseverance.
A filmmaker himself, Rajat takes a backseat when the directorial reins are in others’ hands. He avers, “It doesn’t matter whether the director is young or old, first-timer or veteran, he is a very submissive actor. Even though he might offer a suggestion or two, ultimately, he does become part of the larger goal of director’s vision.”
Although, the world might be going gaga over how OTT has transformed the landscape of entertainment, he isn’t sure whether streamers have in anyway changed audiences’ tastes in India. “Sure, people are watching documentaries. But that number is still small. Anyway, there were always people who were into different kind of cinema.”
Take him, with a film-buff father, at the age of 16, he was part of a film society in Delhi. Introduction to world cinema, the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Ingmar Bergman, had already happened when he entered the Film Training Institute of India, Pune.
However, acting was never by conscious design. While his nuanced role of an abusive uncle in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001) would be forever etched on our minds, at that point he was not looking at a career in acting.
As of today, he might agree that OTT has done wonders for actors, but on a platform where a star is born every other day, he is not looking for that one part which will define him. He doesn’t think there is one such role which will prove your mettle. Ultimately you want to be remembered for your entire body of work
And his impressive oeuvre includes much-lauded directorial endeavours like Ankhon Dekhi. He specialised in film direction at his alma mater and remembers how much the guidance of stalwarts Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani enriched him.
With three National Awards under his belt, he is honest enough to admit that beyond honours and laurels, ‘box office matters more’. But he also insists, “Ultimately one works neither for awards nor for money, but whether one has done something that will outlive you.”
His drive to accomplish that goal reflects in his film “Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa” screened at MAMI Film Festival. For the actor in him, besides Amazon series Khauf, there is the next season of Tanaav, which he promises would be ‘better than the first’. On unflattering comparisons with the original Fauda, which was a rage in India, he would not comment simply for he has not seen the Israeli series.
Actually, OTT where the space for Indie cinema is dwindling does not figure in his viewing experience; at least web dramas don’t. But he would want viewers to catch up with Lootere, which among other things he says is ‘fun’. His reflections on life and his journey may not come across as fun or funny, but candid, calm and collected he sure is.
News Edit K.V.Raman
