A week ago,Neetu Kapoor celebrated her 64^th birthday. The actor is an inspiration of how to embrace life without complaints.  Presenting her story from the very beginning.

When I met Neetu Kapoor in the late seventies, she was Neetu Singh, a highly in demand young actor. She lived in a two-bedroom apartment at Sun Set Heights on Pali Hill, Mumbai with her mother Rajee Kaur and they mostly lived out of suitcases because Neetu was forever shooting outdoors. Over a period of time, as she became more successful, she bought a bigger car and moved into a duplex flat, Shailaja Apartments.

Her filmmakers repeated her in projects because she was professional and her co-stars described her as uncomplicated.  Rajee Kaur said she was a responsible daughter and Neetu confessed she was head over heels in love with co-star, Rishi Kapoor. Unlike actresses of today, Neetu never disguised her attraction for her hero, even though Rishi Kapoor never acknowledged the relationship in public.

When Dil Se… bombed, he said, ‘People are not in a mood for terrorism’ and when Devdas clicked, he said, ‘Seems like audience loves losers.’ He accepted Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam was a compromise and proved a generous producer be it Asoka, Chalte Chalte or Pahel.Post Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kal Ho Na Ho and Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, he was the undisputed king and the media called him Badshah. His critics were hard to please and complained that Shah Rukh only worked in feel good films. He combined Swades, Paheli, Veer Zara with Main Hoon Na, Om Shanti Om and silenced them all.

Another decade passed by. I was now heading a film weekly Screen and we met once a year at Screen Awards and we were polite. Shah Rukh owned a multistory office now, had launched a television production, endorsed brands and did movies when he felt like. Chak De India, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, My Name is Khan, Jab Tak Hai Jaan. He was older now, mellower, kinder. Maybe he was always like that only I never saw that side of him, probably because he made sure to disguise his vulnerable self.

The new millennium had many old and new superstars in the race but Shah Ruklh Khan remained the biggest draw overseas and his banner continues to produce entertainers, some good/ Don 2, some passable/ Ravan, Chenaai Express, some indifferent/ Happy New Year, some embarrassment/ Dilwale and his fans eagerly wait to watch him in Raees and Dear Zindagi. In recent times he has endured personal lows and failures/ Zero but the show goes on and in the movie business you are as good as your last film and all eyes are at the moment on Pathan!

I met Shah Rukh for the first time sometime in 1993. I was editor, g magazine at that time and scheduled to interview the promising newcomer for my magazine. When I arrived at the studio at the allotted time, he was not on the sets and not in his makeup room. I was wondering where to find him, when a studio assistant suggested that I follow the cigarette buds on the floor and locate the actor.

It worked, Shah Rukh Khan was on the studio terrace, blowing smoke rings in the air. Our first encounter was a disaster! I found him boastful and irreverent and he described me as imperious to his friends. The interview never happened. Years passed as Shah Rukh moved from the antihero (Darr and Anjaam) to the obsessed lover in Maya Memsaab. In 1995 Aditya Chopra’s Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge turned him into a youth icon followed by a series of super hits like Dil toh Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He was now a star to reckon with and moved into a sprawling bungalow Mannat, Bandstand.

We were still not on talking terms but our profession bumped us into common events, screening of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani, shooting of Dil Se…We never spoke directly but when I watched him speak to others, he was super energetic, consumed gallons of Pepsi and only ate chicken for lunch and dinner. He still had a crazy sense of humor but now he was more guarded. He did not challenge people. Always intelligent in his interviews, he was realistic about his success and failures.

A week ago, Yash Raj Films released the trailer of Pathan and celebrated 30 years of Shah Rukh Khan in movies with an Insta Live.  It is difficult to believe that three decades have passed by and we also forget that it was Hema Malini who introduced the actor in Dil Aashna Hai.

There is an interesting story about how it happened. Hema Malini was surfing channels like Shah Rukh in Fauji andon investigation, she discovered that he was a stage actor from Delhi. Her office called him up and asked him to come to Bombay but Shah Rukh did not believe them. He thought his friends were playing a prank on him. So, Hema Malini’s niece gave him the office number and asked him to call, Shah Rukh discovered that it was indeed Hema Malini’s office and arrived to meet the actor in Bombay the following morning. 

Hema recalls that Shah Rukh was extremely nervous and replied to every question out of breath.  They did a screen test but it was not satisfactory because his unruly hair covered his face. So, they gelled back his hair and changed him from a jacket to a normal shirt. Hema Malini approved of what she saw from behind the camera but wanted Dharmendra to give the nod.  So, Dharmendra was summoned and Shah Rukh did another screen test. This time he was asked to speak in Hindi and to entertain the celebrity couple, Shah Rukh delivered some film dialogues as well. Dharmendra approved of his diction, his energy, his charm and Shah Rukh was confirmed as the lead Divya Bharati. Year: 1992.

I asked him about his unmistakable stamp in all his albums and creations, Rahman smiled, “Let me tell you it is not deliberate but it is my identity and as long as does not come in the way of my versatility I’m okay.” Where do artistes like you seek inspiration? “From life, from faith, for me it is also from my prayers. Nothing is possible without His will, not my talent nor my innumerable compositions.”

Producers say that to work with Rahman you have to stay in Chennai and keep awake all night. There is a pause, then he says, “I’m not forcing anyone to work with me but if they want to, they will have to come where I live and that is Chennai. I like working in the nights but they are not forced to stay awake. Shyam Benegal didn’t during Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose or Zubeida. Subhash Ghai does because he enjoys the creative process, so it’s their individual choices.

And how do you select your filmmakers? “It’s getting increasingly difficult with time. Earlier it was easier because I was not well-known and could rely on my instinct. Now, there are greater expectations from me so one is perpetually worried of making a wrong choice. The easiest way out is to continue working with people I have like Mani Ratnam, Ashutosh Gowariker, Imtiaaz Ali and a few more. The credibility of the director and the lyricist is of paramount importance. It is embarrassing to be associated with people who don’t deliver. In the past, I have trusted strangers and delivered sublime music, which after all these years, remains in the cans. To do that again would be a colossal waste of my time and energy”.

It’s difficult to accept that a producer will not honor a commitment with AR Rahman. “I’m not saying that they do it deliberately, it is probably lack of finance. Let me give you an example: Many years ago, two directors approached me around the same time. The first, an established banner and the second, talented but new in business. Both wanted tunes from my bank so I gave the not so good composition to the established banner and he delivered a chart buster. The better tune, I gave to the novice but it never got released. I have always wondered what would have happened had I reversed the tunes. Would the big banner have made a bigger success with the other tune? Till the tune is made into a song and picturized, the music composer is never confident of his creation. He can never relish his own music, not until many years later.”

To be continued

A few weeks ago, Khatija Rahman, AR Rahman’s daughter got married and the reception was attended by both, Hindi and South film fraternity. In an interview on his music channel O2 Rahman said that when his daughter was young, she complained that he was always traveling on tours to which Rahman responded, “I am traveling but I am always connected with you. When I was growing up my father was never around me”.  Rahman is father to three children, but he is an inspiration to a million musicians. I recap my conversation with the maestro before the release of Swades and even though it is so many years it is a reflection of what goes on in the mind of a genius…

You are always wary of meeting people, why? “It is because I am shy not anti-social. My work calls me to meet all kinds of people and I deal with them depending on my mood. For every song and every album, I strive to give my best and it is not fair to give me all the credit because it is always team work. The director works equally hard to project my tune in a visual medium. Some songs become a rage, some don’t but my creative satisfaction comes from the approval of my filmmakers.”

To be continued

What makes you anxious? “Not shooting for sure, on the contrary I’m happiest when I’m working but the reactions of the audience – good or bad does add to anxiety. For instance, the viewers were angry with my character Lakshmi in Road. The youngsters loved her she-devil attitude but not the senior audience. Same with Rewa in Naach. I needed to create my own vocabulary of choreography because my character is used as a metaphor.” Were there self-doubts about aping Madhuri Dixit? “See, it was arole. I have grown up watching all her films Abodh to Khalnayak and never having met her was an advantage. The distance brought the awe and the dances were not a problem because Chutki in Main Madhuri Banna Chahti Hoon isn’t in competition with the star, she aspires to be her”.

All your films project you as a seductress. Does a branding like this come with a price? “The seduction is a visual packaging of show business and we actors dress according to characters. In the final analysis, you are what you think, not what you look. I don’t think of myself as a seductress. An image is made up of several factors and appearance and attitude are part of that.  Everything associated with show business is temporary”.