They may be father and son, but stylistically, Anil Kapoor and Harshvarrdhan stand on opposite ends of the showbiz ‘drama’ spectrum. Anil jokes that you’d never see him without professional makeup and a hair stylist, but at the event, he proudly announces how Harshvarrdhan chose to forego both when playing Siddharth in Thar. “This generation doesn’t care for the paraphernalia and entourage that we were so accustomed to once,” he smiled.
Offstage, when asked about this cinematic verité choice, Harshvarrdhan confessed, “So we were doing professional hair and make-up on set on day one, and it just wasn’t feeling right. I had already been in Rajasthan for about 10 days and got a little tanned and sunburnt. So I went on set with my birthmark highly visible on camera. I didn’t do my hair and had a very simple wardrobe... I think if you believe in something, you can let go of your vanity.”
HELLO! gets up close and personal with the father-son duo and gets them to spill on their favourite movies, holiday destinations, and more…
HELLO!: A song you have on loop.
Anil Kapoor: “I have an ‘AK list’ that’s a mix of all the numbers I’ve liked over the years. I keep adding to it. It’s a mix of old and new, including tracks from the Westerns, works of Argentine film music composer Gustavo Santaolalla…”
Harshvarrdhan Kapoor: “I’m listening to ‘Endless Jasmine’. I’m the kind of person who listens to 100 songs to find one that resonates.”
Anil Kapoor: “And I depend on others to recommend!”
H: What are you binge watching?
AK: “I binge-watched WeCrashed, The Queen’s Gambit and Sex Education. There are others I like, but I watched these till the end.”
HK: “I’ve been watching The Dropout. Then there’s WeCrashed, and also Tokyo Vice.”
H: A recent performance that moved you.
AK: “I watched King Richard. I serendipitously went to the premiere at the BFI London Film Festival and met Will Smith! I had last met him at the Oscars and once when he had come over to my house. Fortunately for me, he remembered that. I wished him and said he’d win the Oscar for this film, and he said, “Thank you brotha!”
HK: “Will Smith in King Richard. It was unbelievable.”
H: If you could change places with someone for a day...
AK: “Of late, I’ve been wanting to know more about the life of Daniel Day Lewis. The last film of his that I watched was Phantom Thread. I loved it.”
HK: “Sofia Coppola. I like her taste in everything she does and her aesthetic sense.”
H: A book or movie you go back to repeatedly.
AK: “I love Guru Dutt films; they stood the test of time. I like watching the old songs of Vijay Anand, Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Raj Kapoor... and after a long time, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s songs. I watched a lot of Spaghetti and American Westerns while working on Thar. I keep rewatching Godfather, Scent of a Woman and Fifth Blind Man.”
HK: “Lost in Translation and Badlands. They’re classics. Also, Richard Gere’s Days of Heaven.”
H: The qualities you admire in each other.
AK: “I wish I could be calm and cool the way he is. Nobody knows what’s going on inside him. My problem is I can’t camouflage my feelings!”
HK: “I wish I could be more affable. I am, in my own way, but he really understands how to be affable in a more local context.”
H: Favourite holiday destinations.
AK: “Wherever I go to shoot, if I get a few days off, that becomes my holiday. Like I had a week off recently in Sri Lanka. It’s a beautiful country.”
HK: “I’ve always been fascinated by Sardenia in Italy. Naples and also London, which is like a home away from home.”
H: Your favourite wheels.
AK: “I’m not really a car person. I just like them to be functional and take me from here to there.”
HK: “I’m very fascinated by Lamborghinis!”
H: Your favourite dish.
AK: “Being Punjabi, we tend to eat more non-vegetarian dishes, but in vegetarian cuisines, I really like South Indian and Gujarati food.”
HK: “Lahori Nihari and haleem. My palette is more Afghani than North Indian.”
Video Shot & Edited By: Shreepad Gaonkar ; Styling: Saloni Parekh; Assisted By: Jainee Bheda; Production House: Frizzon Productions; Make-Up For Anil Kapoor: Deepak Chauhan; Hair: Jaipal Raskar (Whynot? By Zeeba) ; For Harshvarrdhan, Hair & Make-Up: Areej Shaikh
This story has been adapted for the website from a story that was originally published in HELLO! India’s May 2022 issue. To read the full interview, get your hands on the latest issue right here!
