Life & Style

Mogambo khush hua: Anil Kapoor looks back at Mr India

Superhero may not have been visible to the naked eye, but has left a clear impact on the actor’s life.

Ians October 18, 2014

MUMBAI:

Veteran actor Anil Kapoor describes the experience of screening his 1987 film Mr India for students and staff members of Indiana University in the US as ‘amazing’.

He flew all the way to Indiana for the special screening of the iconic movie in which he played a man who could become invisible.

Even after all these years, the superhero movie remains the most popular film of Anil, his leading lady Sridevi, and Amrish Puri who played the iconic arch-villain Mogambo.

The film was screened for the students, teachers and staff of Indiana University. The audience watched the Shekhar Kapur-helmed fantasy-comedy with rapt attention. This was followed by an interactive session with the audience where Anil was made to answer innumerable questions.

“It was an amazing experience. The first thing I asked curator John was, ‘Why Mr India? Why not any of my other films?’ He said that there were many reasons. Most of all , because Mr India’ is India’s first real superhero film.”

Anil sat with the students and the faculty to watch the film.

“It was three hours long! I asked the students if they wouldn’t be too exhausted for the question -and-answer session after watching the film for three hours. They not only sat glued to the film, they all stayed on for the interaction.

“I had forgotten the length and the content. I must have watched it 25 years ago. Did I like what I saw? Yeah, the film hasn’t dated at all, except for a few sets, which look like sets.”

“The Indiana University students were amazed that my character’s home in the film was a set. They said it looked too real to be a set,” he said.

On watching Mr India after so long, Anil says he liked the late Amrish Puri’s stint in the film the most.

“What an actor! And what a performance. Not one flawed moment. Every time he said, Mogambo khush hua, the Indiana University audience broke into applause. I also loved the performances of the late Ajit Vachchani, Sharad Saxena, Annu Kapoor and Satish Kaushik. I liked myself the least. I could’ve done a lot better,” he said.

Anil said he was as curious about the students as they were about him.

“I had as many questions for them as they had for me. Understandably, they were not only asking about Mr India, but also about my other films, about my life and career. They wanted to know if we were going to do a sequel and who would play the roles.

“I said if they were, there would be a replacement for every actor. But no one can play Amrish Puri’s part,” he said.

Recollecting the whole process of making the film, Anil said: “Shekhar Kapur and I had a lot of arguments. But it was finally worth it. There is a timeless quality to the film.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2014.

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