3 min readMumbaiFeb 15, 2026 11:27 AM IST
One of the most defining films of Anil Kapoor‘s storied career would be S Shankar’s 2001 seminal political action film Nayak: The Real Hero, in which he played Shivaji Rao, a cameraperson with a news channel who takes on the gargantuan task of becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra for a limited time. At the recently held 12th edition of Expresso, Anil revealed that he underwent extensive workshops for the film and was approached by political parties following its release.
During a conversation with Saurabh Dwivedi, Editor, Indian Express Hindi, Anil Kapoor said, “I’ve always been a student. I want to grow as an actor. So, I feel there’s always someone who knows more about acting than me.” He then revealed approaching his friend and veteran theatre director Feroz Abbas Khan for the same. “I thought of doing workshops for that film (Nayak) with him. So, I used to go to his office in Mahim and did many workshops and rehearsals. We haven’t done a play together yet. That’s on my bucket list. We’ll definitely do it one day, which will be bigger than Nayak hopefully,” added Anil.
His performance in Nayak was so striking that it was only a natural outcome that political parties would approach him after watching the film. “There were a few discussions, but I nipped it in the bud,” said Anil Kapoor without naming the party. “They’re also very sensible. So those who offer it to you won’t do it directly. That offer comes through somebody else. You somewhere get the idea that he’s not inclined to do this job,” he reasoned.
“If I do it, I have to do it very sincerely and genuinely. But I don’t have it within me to give it my full commitment. I want to give my 100% to everything I do. So many times, the UN has asked me to become a brand ambassador when I was in America after Slumdog Millionaire released. Sometimes, when you’re the flavour of the season, every organization of the world wants to approach you,” added Anil.
The actor broke out globally after his role of a manipulative yet self-made quiz show host in Danny Boyle’s 2008 Oscar-winning Hollywood movie Slumdog Millionaire, which was set in India. Anil claimed that he didn’t want to leverage his newfound international popularity by accepting a tokenistic position at the United Nations.
“I didn’t want to use it as a photo op. That I get those four photos and then you do nothing. If you do it, you give it your all. But right now, I have so many priorities that I don’t feel like I can do it. So, I only do what I can without pretending. There are much better people than me who deserve to be in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha,” argued Anil Kapoor.
