Anil Kapoor: “I Made Sure Anand Was My Friend”

Anil Kapoor has a new role to play. He is now father-in-law to his daughter Sonam’s husband.

So how does it feel being a father-in-law?

Anil brushes off all apprehension of taking on a new real-life role. “What father-in-law? From the beginning I made it very clear to Anand that I was going to be his friend , and not his father-in-law. So the ice was melted even before it was frozen.Anand was a part of our family from a very long time. We are pals first, relatives later.”

Anil and daughter Sonam have more reason to rejoice as Veere Di Wedding, their home production has become a huge success.

Exults Anil, “More than me this is good news for our production company . A successful film means all of us –my daughters Rhea and Sonam and me—are on the right track as film producers.”

There has been a lot of raised eyebrows about the language and the sexual content of some scenes in Veere Di Wedding.

But Anil is unfazed. “A lot of it was censored.The language we have is what is permissible as per the censor rules and the constitution.We opted for an ‘A’ certificate and adults do speak in that way,whether we like it or not. To be very honest, when I heard the script the language didn’t even seem like an issue. The dialogues went with the flavour and mood of the film.”

Anil is happy that daughter Sonam has broken the myth about married actresses facing career slump.

Anil sneers, “This is such an oldfashioned way of looking at an actor’s career. I don’t think anyone becomes less popular because he or she is married. When I married my wife Sunita in 1984 I was told my popularity would wane. I was determined to prove the cynics wrong. In fact my actual success as an actor started after my marriage.”