Rishi Kapoor’s sharp tweets on the Nehru-Gandhi family, which have created so much uproar, come on the heels of a Bollywood that is suddenly discovering its political voice

Rishi Kapoor is the ultimate romantic hero for an entire generation that has grown up on films like Bobby , Amar, Akbar, Anthony and Khel Khel Mein . He was sweet, sentimental, uncomplicated. But in his second innings in Bollywood, he has shifted gears dramatically to play experimental and challenging roles — from the butcher Rauf Lala in Agneepath to a Marwari caterer in Shuddh Desi Romance , from a Dawood-like villain in D Day to a lascivious grandfather in Kapoor & Sons .

Significantly, Kapoor’s second innings is also about a hitherto unseen political persona coming to light through the candid opinions he airs regularly on Twitter. His tweets questioning the naming of public places after the Nehru and Gandhi families have blown up into a huge controversy, exciting furious debate on social media and leading to his apartment being stoned.

On social media, amid a sea of actors promoting their own films, his is a refreshing voice, with intelligent and witty takes on the world around him.

We meet him in his quiet apartment off Bandra’s busy Hill Road to ask about his new political persona. He was sprawled on a lounge chair watching TV news when we walked in. Between sips of pudina chhaas and calls from his sister and Nana Patekar, Kapoor spoke about the debate he has unleashed, and his engagement with politics and social media. Excerpts:

When you tweeted about places named after the Nehru and Gandhi families, did you foresee this uproar?

I never imagined it would unleash such a furore; that it would balloon into this controversy. I am being called anti-Congress; that I am against the Gandhi family. My family, right from the time of my great grandfather, has been known to be Congressi. But that doesn’t mean we’ll follow everything without questioning. We are not in the ignorant India of the 60s when we would have blindly put the stamp on the hand (the Congress symbol).

I can’t understand why people are taking such umbrage. I haven’t spoken against the family. I took on the party and its cronies who are using the (family) name everywhere, for anything and everything. How am I wrong in saying that people are exploiting the Nehru-Gandhi name? How can you defend 64 places in Delhi alone named after them? Why are we fooling the people? I have the greatest respect and regard for the family but I will take all the stones hurled. My statement has been misconstrued but then the truth is always bitter. But I am also overwhelmed by the unprecedented support. People have said that deep down they felt the same way but were scared to say it out loud. However, bravery was not my intent. Anyhow, it’s all water under the bridge now.

So there was nothing premeditated about your tweets?

It was just an innocent observation. I was watching the 10:00 p.m. news about the renaming of Akbar Road in Delhi and the thought came to me, and I tweeted. They are asking me why I didn’t say it when the UPA was in power. But it didn’t occur to me then. I am not putting down the party because it is no longer in power. The issue of Akbar Road never arose back then.

You think this practice can be changed?

We should change things constitutionally. We should legislate that no monument or public place will be named after politicians. There have been so many great people who have contributed to the growth of India. After 70 years of Independence, why don’t we give credit to those other than politicians?

How political are you as a person?

In the South, actors have been actively involved in politics. I don’t understand politics, and I have no political aspirations. I am happy being an abhineta, not a neta. I live in my own world, in my own space. In the last 100 years of cinema, my family has been associated with the medium for 86 years.

Why should I deviate from that tradition? Acting gives me a high. But that doesn’t mean I cannot reflect on things. I watch television, I read newspapers. I decide what is good and bad. I am a responsible, tax-paying citizen and I have a right to my opinion, and you can’t get violent with me or victimise me for it. You should take me on, on a proper debating platform instead of hurling stones at my house. In the 40 years of my career, I haven’t been given any recognition although actors junior to me have been given awards. My conscience doesn’t want any award, especially now.

Why?

Because they will say I made these statements only to earn awards. I didn’t tweet with any personal gain in mind. They are saying I am pro-BJP but I have categorically opposed BJP in the past. I have opposed the beef ban, the ban on alcohol in Bihar. I am not a spokesperson for any political person or party. I have campaigned only once in the elections, for Vinod Khanna in Gurdaspur, but that was not as a party member but because he is a colleague. This is the reason film personalities don’t express opinions on important issues. There is an immediate reaction and things get way too much prominence.

Does it affect the business of their films as well?

I don’t think so. People reject a film only if they don’t like it. They forget the controversies when they step into the theatre.

Are you on any other social media platform?

I was on Facebook but the account got hacked twice, so I just gave up on it.

So how did Twitter begin for you?

I would put the blame on Anushka (Sharma). She introduced me to it, but my account was lying defunct for very long till Abhishek (Bachchan) got me involved in it. Then, it started as a lark, just over a year ago. I got on it to interact with friends, companions and fans but gradually realised that anything you say there gets picked up by the media and can get magnified.

I am not using it to make a statement or to glorify myself. What I say is honest, sincere and innocent, without any malice involved. It’s not to hurt anyone intentionally. I just speak the truth. Sometimes, I may have tweeted something wrong as well but I have accepted that, apologised and taken it back. Human beings make mistakes.

Your Twitter feed is remarkably refreshing and spontaneous.

Shouldn’t it be that way? Some people use the platform for effect. At my age, I don’t need to. They often say I tweet when I am drunk, which is a completely baseless allegation. I do fun things on Twitter. I enjoy it. I talk about the real Kapoor & Sons. That’s the way I am, regaling friends with simple, honest talk. I make myself the butt of my jokes like the one I cracked recently on obesity in the Kapoor family. (“Obesity is not because it runs in the Kapoor family! It is because no one runs in the Kapoor family!”)

Are you as forthright in life as you are on Twitter?

I can be very diplomatic if I want to, if I have to avoid conflict. But I will now get more cautious on Twitter. I have never been in a controversy in my life, never challenged anyone. My wife doesn’t like it at all. She gets annoyed.

Is it because of the negativity, the trolls?

I block the trolls. There is this fake Vinod Mehta handle that has been after me and I was taken aback initially because I know he is no more. In fact, if editors like Mehta and Khushwant Singh were alive, they would have lauded me for my stand and my tweets. There are also people who just abuse actors out of habit, which I take with a pinch of salt.

We never saw this opinionated side of you as a young actor.

I think it comes with maturity, experience and the power of rationality.

Who are the other film personalities on Twitter who you think have strong opinions like you?

I think Shirish Kunder is very witty in the way he puts things across. Shabana (Azmi) is quite political.…

The films you were associated with when young, and the films your son is doing — how different are they?

I keep telling Ranbir I became a hero in Rs. 2.50 and you have become one in Rs. 250. The scale has changed. Back then song-and-dance was an intrinsic part of ‘young’ films. It still is, but the box office game is changing. Formulaic films are failing and the non-formulaic is working. The line between art house and mainstream is blurring. There’s only a rare Bajrangi Bhaijaan that has universal appeal. I did offbeat films like Doosra Aadmi and Ek Chadar Maili Si back then, both of which failed. I was stuck with the identity of a lover boy in colourful sweaters singing songs in Ooty and Switzerland. I wasn’t given enough challenging roles. On the other hand, Ranbir was liked immensely in Wake up Sid, Rockstar and Barfi. But when he did a formulaic Besharam, he fell flat on his face. It’s a boon as well as bane for today’s young actors.

Why do you say that?

Because the viewer has become wiser and intelligent. She is more sharp and demanding. The stars are also well-informed and competent, right from the start, while we learnt through experience and grew. We honed our skills through trial and error. The audience was more innocent and forgiving, back then. In my days, every actor was working in several films, of which four were mandatorily on the lost-and-found formula. Since money was not constant, we used to work in as many as 15 films together, on many shifts.

The transition from lover boy to character roles appears seamless in your case. It is as if you never went away.

I worked without a break for long. I upped the youth quotient. Till I came along, older stars were playing college students. That was broken and overnight, they were without a job. I sang songs dedicatedly for 25 years. Only the Khan stardom has lasted that long. I would have lasted another two-three years as a lover boy but I put on weight and newcomers came along. In 1998, I did Karobar, my last film as a romantic hero. Then I took a break and directed Aa Ab Laut Chalein. Then two friends, Rahul Rawail and Veeru Devgan, got me back to acting.

How do things feel at the moment?

I don’t need to be on the conveyor belt, don’t need to keep myself busy. I need a film to inspire me, to challenge me. The script should make me say “Bingo! I need to start shooting tomorrow”. I am at a stage when not many roles are being written for me. Also, I am not as saleable and need a young actor to balance it out, get the audiences to the theatre. Despite this, I got to do Do Dooni Chaar and Kapoor & Sons, which were off the curve. I started acting when I was 15. Now, I have played a 90-year-old in Kapoor & Sons. I know you didn’t like me in it, but it was important for me as an actor to have covered the entire spectrum.

What’s next?

I have a funny with Paresh Rawal called Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi. A sports film might be locked in soon.

BOLLYWOOD TWEETS POLITICS

“A selfie is not a device to bring about change Mr. PM. Try reform”. This tweet last year, from film and television actor Shruti Seth, in response to the #selfiewithdaughter campaign, got her a deluge of invective and she eventually had to remove the tweet. But Seth is unfazed. “People need to be politically attuned or else we will keep electing wrong people to powerful posts,” she said to The Hindu.

Actor Neha Dhupia tweeted: “One rain n the city comes to a standstill. Good governance is not about selfies n makin us do yoga, it’s making sure ur citizens r safe.” And in response to the beef ban, Rishi Kapoor tweeted: “I am angry. Why do you equate food with religion? I am a beef eating Hindu. Does that mean I am less God fearing than a non-eater? Think!”

Till even a few years ago, political beliefs in Bollywood were associated only with its ‘intelligentsia’ like Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das, Javed Akhtar, Mahesh Bhatt, Sudhir Mishra or Hansal Mehta. But increasingly, the industry is letting its political slip show. From the beef ban to the intolerance debate (Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan) to writing opinion pieces in solidarity with students of Film and Television Institute of India (Dibakar Banerjee), they have been vocal.

Interestingly, it’s taken Twitter’s 140 characters to make the stars leave their ivory towers and declare their political identity, a side never spotted in gossip magazine interviews. In fact, editor-filmmaker Shirish Kunder is possibly better known for his Twitter feed. Unlike the rather tepid run of his films, his online persona sparkles with wit. On the Akbar Road controversy, he tweeted: “Modi sarkar promised to be a game changer. Turned out to be a name changer.”

Is the politicisation of Bollywood a sign of the times, a fallout of the larger polarisation we are seeing in the country at large? Or is it that we have a different generation of actors that is not afraid to take a stand?

The lines are already clearly drawn, with the right occupied by the likes of Anupam Kher, Vivek Agnihotri, Madhur Bhandarkar and Ashok Pandit, while the rest are arrayed on the somewhat larger not-right and middle spaces.

Last heard, Congress party workers had named a toilet after Rishi Kapoor to get back at him for his tweet. In the age of intolerance and trolls, the big risk is that an important demographic that’s just found a political voice might decide to go silent again. — NJ