Kunal Kapoor

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theatre director and actor Barry John in his theatre group, which led to his subsequent entry into Naseeruddin Shah’s theatre group “Motley” which paved his way into cinema later on when he got the chance to work as an assistant director to acclaimed filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in his supernatural thriller film Aks in the year 2001 which led to his acting debut in 2006.

Acting Debut and career best role(2005-2006) The multifaceted painter/filmmaker M.F Hussain was the first person to cast Kunal Kapoor in his first film Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities, where he shared screen with Tabu and Raghuvir Yadhav. The movie saw him very first up in a meaty role and was a critic’s favourite of the year 2005. Kunal Kapoor was next seen playing among an ensemble lead consisting of Aamir Khan, Siddarth, Atul Kulkarni, R .Madhavan and many more in the partial historical drama film Rang De Basanti. Kunal Kapoor was in fact one of the first actors to be cast by the director in the role as he was involved with the concept from early on dating back to his short assistant director stint with Mehra. Kapoor played one among the lead four who in the course of making a documentary on four past National revolutionaries, gradually comes of age with shocking revelations of their characters and also to the changing socio-political conditions in the country which can only be cured through violent means . The National Award winning movie was an instant classic with a highly dedicated fan following and also was India’s nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in the years Academy Awards and was a blockbuster hit with rave reviews. Kapoor managed to underplay the emotional nuances of the character with much finesse and the performance fetched him a nomination for The Best Supporting Actor Awards at the Filmfare that year. The movie panned out to be a solid benchmark for Kapoor and set his career in the right path and got him widespread acclaim in the blink of an eye. Next big releases ( 2007-2011) Kapoor was then signed on by Yash Raj Films on a three film contract, which saw him going on donning crucial supporting roles in their next three ventures starting with the drama flick Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, where he co-starred with Rani Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and more in the lead. The movie was a major money spinner which got amazing reviews especially for the lead cast performances with Kapoor coming up with a refreshing rendition of the urban based youth who later on starts developing feelings for a village girl after much turn of events. Kapoor was next seen in ace cinematographer Anil Mehta’s debut directorial Aaja Nachle, where he was seen with Madhuri Dixit, Akshaye Khanna and Konkana Sen Sharma. However the movie was a sleeper outing in the box office with mostly mixed reviews. Kapoor ended the three film contract by playing yet another supporting hand in the Ranbir Kapoor starrer Bachna Ae Haseeno which was a commercial potboiler with mediocre reviews. Kapoor then delivered a smashing act as the firebrand young Kashmiri politician in the political drama Lamhaa starring Sanjay Dutt. The movie had a much scope for performance for Kapoor and he was showered praises for his matured and intense acting antics. Following year he appeared as an IT junkie in ShahRukh Khan’s Don 2, the sequel instalment action thriller had him playing the second fiddle to Khan who is key figure in the narrative of the movie. The Farhan Akhtar directorial was an far untested territory for Kapoor where he was seen blending well with the demands of mainstream Bollywood extravaganzas with an seasoned and crucial screen time to his name. The movie ended up with mostly positive reviews and also had a steady run at the box office, but yet again was instrumental in enhancing Kapoor’s fame in the big league of Bollywood too. Subsequent films ( 2012-2014) Kunal Kapoor kept up his good script selection ways by starring in the critically acclaimed comedy Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana bankrolled by Anurag Kashyap. The movie which had him pairing with Huma Qureshi in the lead saw him playing a London based guy who comes back to his roots to his village, discovering the recipe of his grandfather’s long lost special dish amidst the trivial relationship problems he encounters with his child hood sweetheart in a comic rural backdrop. The movie had Kapoor for the first time being appreciated for his comic sensibilities and was a critical phenomenon with some citing it as one of the best movies of the year 2012 with good collections also. He then went on to lead in the offbeat comedy Kaun Kitne Paani Mein opposite Radhika Apte , which narrated the fictional story of two highly opposing villages which later on resolves the issues to face a bigger threat in the form of water scarcity and saw the two playing members of two villages. The movie was a mediocre hit with exceptional reviews in the year 2014. Recent films & future releases ( 2016-2017) Kunal Kapoor took a major career leap in the year 2015 when he was called upon by acclaimed Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj for his magnum opus historic drama film Veeram , which incidentally is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” which is rooted into the backdrop of a well-known folklore existing Kerala. The movie is also the costliest outing in Malayalam cinema to date with many foreign technicians being part of the team and has pan Indian actors in the lead along with Kapoor who plays the protagonist. Veeram was premiered at any prestigious film festivals like BRICS Film Festival and won several accolades for Kapoor and is slated to have a theatre release in 2017. Meanwhile while shooting for the long drawn project Kapoor also did a major role in Gauri Shinde’s ShahRukh Khan starrer , which saw him playing Alia Bhatt’s love interest and his performance was yet again well received with the release of the movie in the end of 2016. Kapoor ’s upcoming projects are Tigmanshu Dhulia’s war drama Raag Desh, which is based on the Red Fort trials of 1945. He is also expected to play the iconic superhero character “Doga” in Anurag Kashyap’s next directorial. Chamkila and Veeram are also his next releases in 2017.