Annu Kapoor

(present-day Madhya Pradesh),

Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 45 years as an actor, producer, director and singer. Besides acting, he also does a Radio show, named Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor which is broadcast on 92.7 Big FM. He has won numerous awards in his career, including two National Film Awards, one Filmfare Award and two Indian Television Academy Awards.

Early life

Annu Kapoor was born Anil Kapoor in Itwara, Bhopal, Bhopal State, on 20 February 1956, to Madanlal, a Punjabi father with roots in Peshawar and Karnal, a Bengali Brahmin mother. His father owned a travelling Parsi theatre company which performed in cities and towns, and his mother was an Urdu teacher and a trained classical singer. His grandfather Kripa Ram Kapoor was a doctor in the British Army and his great grandfather Lala Ganga Ram Kapoor, a revolutionary who was executed during the Indian freedom struggle.

Due to poor financial circumstances, he had to quit school following secondary education. With a salary of ₹ 40, his mother worked as a teacher. On his father's insistence, he joined his theatre company. Following a stint there, he joined National School of Drama in 1976, after his brother Ranjit Kapoor, who was already a student there insisted. After graduating from the National School of Drama and a brief stint with its repertory company, in 1981, he played a 70-year-old man in the play Ek Ruka Hua Faisla in Bombay (now Mumbai). Film director Shyam Benegal who saw Kapoor perform, sent him a letter of appreciation and signed him for his 1983 film, Mandi.

Kapoor's sister Seema Kapoor was briefly married to actor Om Puri. His elder brother, Ranjit, is a director and screenwriter and Seema is a producer and actor. Kapoor's younger brother, Nikhil, is a writer and lyricist.

Personal life

Relationships and family

Kapoor first married Anupama Patel, an American by birth, in 1992 and they divorced in 1993. Annu then was married to Arunita Mukherjee from 1995 to 2005. He remarried his first wife, Anupama (Pami), in 2008.

Kapoor has four children (three sons - Kavan, Maahir and Evaan - and a daughter, Aradhita) from two marriages.

Religion

Born into a Hindu family, Kapoor considers himself to be an atheist.

Career

Acting

He made his screen debut Aadharshila (1982) during his days in Delhi, his debut in the professional film industry in Mumbai was in Mandi (1983) and BETAB Khandar (1984). He got his first breakthrough with Utsav (1984), in which he portrayed the role of Masseur. For which he got his first nomination in the Filmfare Awards in the category of Best Performance in a Comic Role. Subsequently he starred in many critically and commercially acclaimed films like Mr. India (1987), Tezaab (1988), Ram Lakhan (1990), Ghayal (1990), Hum (1991), Darr (1993), Sardar (1993), Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Aitraaz (2004) and 7 Khoon Maaf (2011).

Kapoor began his career as a stage actor in 1979 and was noticed in 1984's Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, directed by Basu Chatterjee and written by elder brother Ranjeet. Annu made his film debut in Mandi, (directed by Shyam Benegal) in 1983. His career has spanned over 30 years, including Bollywood cinema, television serials and game shows. Kapoor is best remembered for hosting the singing show Close-Up Antakshari, produced by Zee TV. His performance as an obsessive-compulsive sperm-bank physician in 2012's Vicky Donor met with critical and popular acclaim. He worked in the horror TV serial Kile ka Rahasya (1989) as a cop who was fond of singing.

Kapoor has also appeared in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2. His second big breakthrough came with Vicky Donor (2012), he portrayed the role of Dr. Baldev Chadha. His performance was lauded by critics and audiences, for which he won a Filmfare Award, a IIFA Award, a National Film Award, a Screen Award all in the category of Best Supporting Actor. After Vicky Donor, he starred in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013), Shaukeen (2014), Saat Uchakkey (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Missing (2018), Dream Girl (2019), Khuda Haafiz (2020) and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (2020).

Television

In 2007, Antakshari – The National Challenge was relaunched on STAR One. The previous year, its "final" episode was telecast; the programme's initial run was from 1993 to 2006. His range of roles varies from portrayal as Saint Kabir in DD National TV serial of the same name, as Mahatma Gandhi in Sardar and Veer Savarkar in Kaala Pani, to police inspector in 7 Khoon Maaf, a petty thief in Utsav to comedic villain in Hum.

The Golden Era – With Annu Kapoor on the Mastiii channel is a nostalgia TV show about Indian cinema, adorned with classical era's Hindi film songs and commentary by Annu Kapoor on unheard tales of Bollywood Cinema's Legends.

Despite films, Annu has been very active in television shows. He is also known for judging and hosting the 90's musical show Antakshari (1993-2005) and Golden Era with Annu Kapoor (2011). He has also appeared in some television series like Param Vir Chakra (1988), Ajnabi (1994), Kabeer (1995), Gubbare (1999) etc.

As a radio presenter

Currently, he does a radio programme on 92.7 Big FM called "Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor on 92.7 Big FM". It's a daily show that features nationally on the radio networks covering all Hindi speaking radio stations across the country. He recreates the magic of the Golden era with unforgettable melodies of that era and untold stories of the stars and films of the Hindi Cinema. The show comes with the tagline "Filmy Duniya Ki Kahi Ankahi Kahaniya".

Director

Kapoor has directed several plays. He also directed a feature film Abhay (The Fearless), starring Nana Patekar, Moon Sen and Benjamin Gilani) for the Children's Film Society, India. The film won the 1995 National Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Producer

Kapoor produced a musical talent contest for children (Aao Jhoomein Gaayen for SAB TV) and a Bengali-language musical talent-hunt show, Gaan Gaao Taaka Naao on Rupashi Bangla TV in Kolkata. He also produced a musical in Mathura entitled Ek Sunhari Shyam.

Filmography

Directed venture

Films

Television

Radio (RJ)

Theatre

Parsi theatre

• Laila Majnu
• Harischandra
• Shirin-Farhad
• Bhakta Prahlad
• Shree Krishna Avtar
• Dahi Wali
• Qatl-e-Tamizan

Modern plays

• Antim Yatra: Directed by Barry John
• Three Sisters: Written by Anton Chekhov, directed by E. Alkazi
• The Great God Brown by Eugene O'Neill
• The Zoo Story by Edward Albee
• Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

Awards

Footnotes

References

References

1. "Birthday Special: अन्नू कपूर का असली नाम है अनिल कपूर, 4 की जगह 10 हजार का चैक मिला तो बदलना पड़ा नाम". patrika.com.
2. Tripathi, Shailaja. (9 April 2016). "Master raconteur". The Hindu.
3. (29 August 2016). "Do You Know: Annu Kapoor's real name is Anil Kapoor & he got Anil's fees in Mashaal! – Filmy Fenil". Filmy Fenil.
4. "Annu Kapoor's name was Anil Kapoor! – Times of India". The Times of India.
5. (11 April 2019). "Suhana Safar with Annu Kapoor Take-2".
6. Sen, Vishal ''अन्नू कपूर की संक्षिप्त जीवनी: युवा लड़के से सफल व्यक्ति तक'', 2018
7. (1 November 2014). "Annu Kapoor: I would rather die than cheat my wife". The Times of India.
8. "Annu Kapoor's Biography".
9. (31 August 2016). "Om Puri to star in his first wife Seema Kapoor's film". Mid Day.
10. (6 September 2013). "It was painful to see my sister suffer: Annu Kapoor". The Times of India.
11. (9 April 2015). "Annu Kapoor poses with wife Anupama Kapoor during the premiere of Bollywood movie Dharam Sankat Mein, held at PVR, in Mumbai". The Times of India.
12. (19 June 2012). "Why are divorced Indians remarrying their exes? - Times of India". The Times of India.
13. (22 February 2012). "Anu Kapoor's son Anushuman and wife Anupama during Anu Kapoor's b'day bash at Wild Wild West Restaurant in Mumbai.". The Times of India.
14. (20 June 2024). "Don't have any relationship with any religion: Annu Kapoor amid 'Hamare Baarah' controversy".
15. (21 June 2024). "Annu Kapoor: Don't have any relationship with any religion".
16. (23 August 1984). "Utsav (1984)". Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
17. (11 July 2018). "Ram Lakhan (1989) - Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget & Reviews".
18. "Ram Lakhan: Where good wins over evil".
19. (5 June 2020). "Annu Kapoor: Basu dada never asked for too many takes". mid-day.
20. (20 April 2012). "Vicky Donor Movie Review". The Times of India.
21. Sharma, Dipti. (9 February 2017). "Akshay Kumar is the most commercially viable superstar, says Annu Kapoor". [[The Indian Express]].
22. (29 June 2020). "Vidyut Jammwal starrer Khuda Haafiz to release on Disney Plus Hotstar".
23. Thakur, Charu. (13 September 2019). "Dream Girl Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana film is ROFL all the way. But that's all".
24. Guha, Kunal GuhaKunal. (13 November 2020). "Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari review: This Manoj Bajpayee, Diljit Dosanjh and Fatima Sana Shaikh-starrer doesn't employ your brains too much but leaves largely satisfied".
25. [http://vimeo.com/29774233 The Golden Era with Annu Kapoor], Montage on Vimeo
26. (31 May 2007). "'Colgate Maxfresh Antakshari - The Great Challenge Little Stars' starts 4 June 7.30pm only on Star Plus".
27. Randor Guy. (14 June 2007). "Maker of innovative, meaningful movies". The Hindu.
28. [http://cfsindia.org/abhay-the-fearless/ ABHAY (The Fearless)] Children's Film Society India
29. "42nd National Film Awards". Directorate of Film Festivals.
30. (4 January 2013). "STAR Jalsha, JALSHA Movies, Ruposhi Bangla garner record ratings". Business Standard India.
31. "Anokha Andaaz - Movie - - Box Office India".
32. "The Signature: Meet Annu Kapoor as Prabhakar in the new poster of Anupam Kher's film".
33. (8 August 2022). "Annu Kapoor's Hum Do Hamare Baarah 'not targeting any community': Director reacts to criticism". Hindustan Times.
34. (1 June 2024). "Luv Ki Arrange Marriage: Sunny Singh-Avneet Kaur starrer to release on ZEE5".
35. "Best Lyricist (Popular)". Filmfare Awards Official wlistings, [[Indiatimes]].
36. "V. Shantaram Awards Ceremony".
37. [[National Film Award for Best Children's Film]]
38. "Telly awards 2002 Popular Awards nominees".
39. "Telly awards 2003 Popular Awards winners".
40. "GR8! TV Magazine - THE INDIAN TELEVISION ACADEMY AWARDS, 2003".
41. "GR8! TV Magazine - THE INDIAN TELEVISION ACADEMY AWARDS, 2004".
42. (17 February 2013). "Star Guild Awards 2013: Salman Khan Debuts as Host; Vidya Balan, Ranbir Kapoor Win Best Actors Awards [Full List of Winners]". International Business Times.
43. (7 July 2013). "IIFA Awards 2013: The winners are finally here!". Zee News.
44. (13 January 2013). "58th Idea Filmfare Awards nominations are here!". [[Filmfare Awards]].
45. "60th National Film Awards: The list of winners". News18.
46. (12 January 2013). "Winners of 19th Annual Colors Screen Awards".
47. (27 February 2016). "TOIFA 2016: Full Nomaination List".
48. [[Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role]]
49. (12 January 2015). "Stardust Awards 2015: List of Winners". NDTVMovies.com.
50. "2018 Archives – Zee Cine Awards".
51. [https://www.filmibeat.com/television/news/2018/ita-2018-winners-list-divyanka-tripathi-surbhi-chandna-harshad-chopra-sunil-grover-others-bag-awards/articlecontent-pf273007-280383.html ITA 2018 Winners List: Supriya Pilgoankar, Annu Kapoor wins big!]
52. (October 2018). "Winners List: Streaming Awards, September 2018 Edition".