Anil Kapoor: I take inspiration from The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola’s film Patton’

Anil Kapoor in a still from Fighter.

After garnering appreciation for his roles as an arms dealer in the web-series The Night Manager and then as a negligent and arrogant father in the superhit Animal, actor Anil Kapoor was recently seen essaying the role of Indian Air Force Captain Rocky Singh in Fighter.

Anil Kapoor has been taking up more and more diverse roles lately - after playing the traditional Hindi (and Telugu) film hero for the better part of 40 years, we're seeing him in more nuanced roles in films and series from Slumdog Millionaire and 24 to Taal and Jugjugg Jeeyo. The 67-year-old actor recently shared with media that each character requires a different prep.

Also read: Anil Kapoor: ‘I just wanted to become an actor; I became a star because of God’s blessings and audience’s love’

“With Animal, the internal preparation was more important; I was playing my age, so the physical appearance was not the foremost thing. As for The Night Manager, I have never met an arms dealer and so, I had to use my imagination, rehearse, go on the set and find my pitch. For me, this entire process is very exciting and de-stresses me. When I am stressed, I go and rehearse and act and watch. It is a de-stressor for me,” he said, during an interview for Fighter.

For director Siddhant Anand's Fighter, which also stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, Kapoor shared that the physicality came first and only then he internalised it. “I had to research the way an Indian Air Force man would talk and walk and look the part. I’ve also played an Army Officer in Pukar (2000) which was a very exciting journey,” he said.

Kapoor shared that he finds inspiration in the 1970 biographical war film Patton based on the life of US General George S Patton during World War II, which went on to win several Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director. The film was co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, who would go on to co-write and direct The Godfather two years later, in 1972. “I watched that film when I was doing my acting course and the first character improvisation I did was also based on Patton,” he said, sharing that he keeps visiting that film every now and then because he finds it so inspirational.