Anil Kapoor Reveals ‘Subedar,’ Confirms ‘Android Kunjappan,’ Talks ‘Night Manager 2’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Naman Ramachandran
·3 min read
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Prolific Indian actor Anil Kapoor will star in “Subedar” for Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment.

The film will be directed by Suresh Triveni, who previously directed T-Series’ comedy-drama “Tumhari Sulu” (2017) and T-Series and Abundantia’s Prime Video original thriller “Jalsa” (2022), both headlined by Vidya Balan.

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“I have done a lot of action films, but this is a pure action film, a dramatic action film,” Kapoor told Variety. “I’m excited about it.” The plot is under wraps at the moment. Principal photography will commence Sept. 15.

Kapoor also confirmed that he is on board and will play the lead in the Hindi-language adaptation of 2019 Malayalam-language hit “Android Kunjappan Ver 5.25,” where a father-son relationship gets an endearing twist when an AI humanoid enters their lives.

Up next for Kapoor is the second part of “The Night Manager” on streamer Disney+ Hotstar, the Indian adaptation of the 2016 BBC series of the same name, based on John le Carré’s 1993 novel. The first part began streaming in February and the second part will stream from June 30. Kapoor plays arms dealer Shailendra Rungta, aka Shelly.

The actor says that he was initially “worried” and “apprehensive” that the story was being split into two parts but after the kudos for the first part he is excited for the second part. “In a way it was a gamble to do it in two parts, but it paid off,” Kapoor said.

About the evolution of his character Kapoor said: “When we ended the fourth episode, he is still a family man, a little more more grey and a little white. And then he gets darker. It was fun doing that.”

“Slowly he starts getting more edgier and starts mistrusting his the closest people around him – everybody’s trying to corner him. It’ll be interesting for me to watch how people react,” Kapoor said, adding that in his body of work over the past few years, he’s done comedies, romances and action films and all of them, including the first part of “The Night Manager,” were that of a “conventional leading man,” but the second part is completely different.

Kapoor featured in “Jug Jugg Jeeyo,” one of the few Bollywood hits of 2022 and he won best supporting actor at India’s Filmfare awards for his role in the divorce comedy. The busy actor has several films in the works.

A biopic of Indian Olympic gold medal winning shooter Abhinav Bindra, starring Kapoor and his son Harshvardhan, is being produced by the latter for Anil Kapoor Film Company. “The dream is it should connect all over the world,” Kapoor said.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s action drama “Animal,” alongside Ranbir Kapoor and aerial action film “Fighter,” alongside Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, directed by “Pathaan” filmmaker Siddharth Anand, will both wrap in June.

Kapoor debuted with a supporting role in “Hamare Tumhare” (1979) before moving on to leading roles in more than 130 films. “That’s been the reason of my longevity – I’m not interested in directing, I love my job. I love acting. Obviously, with my years of experience sometimes I give suggestions here and there,” Kapoor said.

The actor can currently be seen in Jeremy Renner’s Disney series “Rennervations” and has made a mark in the west with “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “24: India.” He is currently fielding “a lot of exciting offers” from Hollywood.

Kapoor is represented by David Unger at Artist International Group.

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