Anil
Kapoor
says
he
never
chased
stardom
in
his
35-year-long
journey
in
cinema
and
rather
saw
it
as
the
by-product
of
being
a
versatile
performer.
The
61-year-old
actor,
whose
first
lead
role
was
in
the
1983
film
Woh
Saat
Din,
says
he
never
succumbed
to
the
idea
of
a
conventional
"hero",
as
his
aim
was
to
be
recognised
as
a
performer.
"Since
the
time
I
started
till
now,
I
have
never
surrendered
to
the
idea
of
being
a
hero.
I
just
wanted
to
be
an
actor.
I
was
lucky
that
those
characters
came
to
me
and
the
films
became
successful.
I
just
went
for
the
characters,
directors
and
stories.
And
I
became
a
star," Kapoor
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
The
actor
says
even
after
giving
back-to-back
hits
in
the
'90s,
he
never
put
on
any
air
and
that's
the
case
even
now.
"I
don't
shy
away
from
doing
odd
jobs
on
the
sets.
I
am
low
maintenance.
I
can
adapt
to
any
kind
of
situation
because
I
have
always
had
that
inherent
confidence.
More
than
anything
else
work
is
important
for
me.
I
believe
that's
what
has
kept
me
relevant
and
from
that
comes
confidence."
"My
family,
my
wife,
my
producers
they
keep
saying...'Why
are
you
doing
such
things?
You
are
a
star' I
keep
forgetting
it.
But
that's
how
I
am.
I
can't
be
fake
or
pretend.
I
can't
be
illusioned.
I
can't
be
in
my
own
world
or
aura.
I
make
sure
to
reach
out
to
people
for
work."
The
veteran
actor,
who
is
known
for
sharing
a
strong
bond
with
young
stars
like
Arjun
Kapoor,
Ranveer
Singh
and
Rajkummar
Rao
among
others,
says
interacting
with
new
talent
gives
him
a
fresh
perspective
about
his
life
and
career.
"World
belongs
to
the
younger
generation.
So,
it
is
important
for
us
to
listen
to
them
and
take
from
them.
Every
generation
comes
out
with
something
new
and
fresh,
so
I
learn
from
them.
I
surrender
to
them.
Rather
than
giving
them
gyan
(lecture),
I
ask
them
to
give
me
gyan.
That's
what
my
way
is."
Kapoor
is
currently
looking
forward
to
the
release
of
"Fanney
Khan",
in
which
he
plays
a
father
who
wishes
to
fulfill
his
daughter's
dream
of
becoming
a
star
performer,
as
she
battles
fat
shaming.
The
Atul
Manjrekar-directed
film
is
produced
by
Rakeysh
Omprakash
Mehra.
The
actor
says
he
was
not
sure
about
working
with
Atul,
as
he
came
from
an
advertising
background,
but
he
could
not
say
no
after
he
narrated
the
script.
"Rakeysh
got
in
touch
with
me
for
'Fanney
Khan' five
years
ago.
He
told
me
it
was
a
remake
of
Oscar-nominated
Belgium
film
"Everybody's
Famous"
and
at
that
time
I
had
not
seen
the
movie."
"One
day,
I
got
a
call
from
Rakeysh
again
and
he
asked
me
to
meet
this
new
director
Atul.
I
was
not
sure
of
working
with
a
new
director.
I
became
even
more
nervous.
But
when
Atul
narrated
me
the
story,
I
immediately
said
yes.
It
is
a
great
story
and
I
love
the
way
it
has
turned
out
to
be.
I
believe
I
was
destined
to
do
this
film."
The
movie
also
features
debutante
Pihu
Sand,
Aishwarya
Rai
Bachchan,
Rajkummar
Rao
and
Divya
Dutta.
The
film
has
been
produced
by
T-Series,
Anil
Kapoor
Films
&
Communications
Network
and
Rakeysh
Omprakash
Mehra
Pictures.
It
will
be
released
on
August
3.
Next
on
the
actor's
plate
is
Total
Dhamaal
with
Madhuri
Dixit
and
Ek
Ladki
Ko
Dekha
To
Aisa
Laga
with
daughter
Sonam,
Juhi
Chawla
and
Rao.