Annu Kapoor

Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 45 years as an actor, producer, director and singer. Besides acting, he also does a Radio show, named Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor which is broadcast on 92.7 Big FM. He has won numerous awards in his career, including two National Film Awards, one Filmfare Award and two Indian Television Academy Awards.

Early life Annu Kapoor was born Anil Kapoor in Itwara, Bhopal, Bhopal State, on 20 February 1956, to Madanlal, a Punjabi father with roots in Peshawar and Karnal, a Bengali Brahmin mother. His father owned a travelling Parsi theatre company which performed in cities and towns, and his mother was an Urdu teacher and a trained classical singer. His grandfather Kripa Ram Kapoor was a doctor in the British Army and his great grandfather Lala Ganga Ram Kapoor, a revolutionary who was executed during the Indian freedom struggle.

Kapoor's sister Seema Kapoor was briefly married to actor Om Puri. His elder brother, Ranjit, is a director and screenwriter and Seema is a producer and actor. Kapoor's younger brother, Nikhil, is a writer and lyricist.

Personal life

Relationships and family Kapoor first married Anupama Patel, an American by birth, in 1992 and they divorced in 1993. Annu then was married to Arunita Mukherjee from 1995 to 2005. He remarried his first wife, Anupama (Pami), in 2008.

Kapoor has four children (three sons - Kavan, Maahir and Evaan - and a daughter, Aradhita) from two marriages.

Religion Born into a Hindu family, Kapoor considers himself to be an atheist.

Career Acting

He made his screen debut Aadharshila (1982) during his days in Delhi, his debut in the professional film industry in Mumbai was in Mandi (1983) and BETAB Khandar (1984). He got his first breakthrough with Utsav (1984), in which he portrayed the role of Masseur. For which he got his first nomination in the Filmfare Awards in the category of Best Performance in a Comic Role. Subsequently he starred in many critically and commercially acclaimed films like Mr. India (1987), Tezaab (1988), Ram Lakhan (1990), Ghayal (1990), Hum (1991), Darr (1993), Sardar (1993), Om Jai Jagadish (2002), Aitraaz (2004) and 7 Khoon Maaf (2011).

Kapoor began his career as a stage actor in 1979 and was noticed in 1984's Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, directed by Basu Chatterjee and written by elder brother Ranjeet. Annu made his film debut in Mandi, (directed by Shyam Benegal) in 1983. His career has spanned over 30 years, including Bollywood cinema, television serials and game shows. Kapoor is best remembered for hosting the singing show Close-Up Antakshari, produced by Zee TV. His performance as an obsessive-compulsive sperm-bank physician in 2012's Vicky Donor met with critical and popular acclaim. He worked in the horror TV serial Kile ka Rahasya (1989) as a cop who was fond of singing.

Kapoor has also appeared in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2. His second big breakthrough came with Vicky Donor (2012), he portrayed the role of Dr. Baldev Chadha. His performance was lauded by critics and audiences, for which he won a Filmfare Award, a IIFA Award, a National Film Award, a Screen Award all in the category of Best Supporting Actor. After Vicky Donor, he starred in Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 (2013), Shaukeen (2014), Saat Uchakkey (2016), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Missing (2018), Dream Girl (2019), Khuda Haafiz (2020) and Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (2020).

Television In 2007, Antakshari – The National Challenge was relaunched on STAR One. The previous year, its "final" episode was telecast; the programme's initial run was from 1993 to 2006. His range of roles varies from portrayal as Saint Kabir in DD National TV serial of the same name, as Mahatma Gandhi in Sardar and Veer Savarkar in Kaala Pani, to police inspector in 7 Khoon Maaf, a petty thief in Utsav to comedic villain in Hum.

The Golden Era – With Annu Kapoor on the Mastiii channel is a nostalgia TV show about Indian cinema, adorned with classical era's Hindi film songs and commentary by Annu Kapoor on unheard tales of Bollywood Cinema's Legends.

Despite films, Annu has been very active in television shows. He is also known for judging and hosting the 90's musical show Antakshari (1993-2005) and Golden Era with Annu Kapoor (2011). He has also appeared in some television series like Param Vir Chakra (1988), Ajnabi (1994), Kabeer (1995), Gubbare (1999) etc.

As a radio presenter Currently, he does a radio programme on 92.7 Big FM called "Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor on 92.7 Big FM". It's a daily show that features nationally on the radio networks covering all Hindi speaking radio stations across the country. He recreates the magic of the Golden era with unforgettable melodies of that era and untold stories of the stars and films of the Hindi Cinema. The show comes with the tagline "Filmy Duniya Ki Kahi Ankahi Kahaniya".

Director Kapoor has directed several plays. He also directed a feature film Abhay (The Fearless), starring Nana Patekar, Moon Sen and Benjamin Gilani) for the Children's Film Society, India. The film won the 1995 National Film Award for Best Children's Film.

Producer Kapoor produced a musical talent contest for children (Aao Jhoomein Gaayen for SAB TV) and a Bengali-language musical talent-hunt show, Gaan Gaao Taaka Naao on Rupashi Bangla TV in Kolkata. He also produced a musical in Mathura entitled Ek Sunhari Shyam.

Filmography Directed venture Year Title Notes 1994 Abhay - The Fearless

Films +Key Denotes films that have not yet been released

Television Programme Notes Khari-Khari Rajendra Bhatia Darpan (two stories) Basu Chatterji Pathrai Aankhon Ke Sapne (Tele Film) Pramod Soni Phatichar Dr Quack Kabir Anil Chaudry Satya Ray Presents (one story) Satyajit Ray Param Vir Chakra Chetan Anand Quile Ka Rahasya Seema Kapoor Close Up Antakshari Gajendra Singh Chekhov Ki Duniya (one story) Ranjit Kapoor Idea Jalsa By Durga Jasraj Wheel Smart Shrimati For Doordarshan Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka Gajendra Singh Ek Se Badkar Ek Chota Packet Bada Dhamaka Ki Funshala Golden Era With Annu Kapoor Mastiii Itihaas Gavah Hai(Voice Over) News24 Paurashpur ALTBalajiCrash CourseAmazon Prime Video

Radio (RJ) Show Radio Station Name Suhaana Safar With Annu Kapoor 92.7 Big FM

Theatre Parsi theatre Laila Majnu Harischandra Shirin-Farhad Bhakta Prahlad Shree Krishna Avtar Dahi Wali Qatl-e-Tamizan

Modern plays Antim Yatra: Directed by Barry John Three Sisters: Written by Anton Chekhov, directed by E. Alkazi The Great God Brown by Eugene O'Neill The Zoo Story by Edward Albee Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

Awards

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef(s) 1986 Filmfare Awards Best Performance in a Comic Role Utsav 1994 V. Shantaram AwardBest DirectorAbhay National Film AwardsBest Children’s Film 2002Indian Telly AwardsBest AnchorAntakshari 2003 ITA AwardsBest Anchor 2004 2013 Apsara Awards Best Actor in a Comic RoleVicky Donor IIFA Awards Best Supporting ActorBest Performance in a Comic Role Filmfare Awards Best Supporting Actor National Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Screen Awards Best Comedian Times of India Film Awards Best Supporting Actor Zee Cine Awards Best Actor in a Comic Role 2014 Stardust Awards Best Supporting Actor The Shaukeens 2017 Zee Cine Awards Best Actor in a Negative RoleJolly LLB 2 2018 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor in a Web SeriesHome Streaming Awards Best Actor

Footnotes