I never had a career: Shekhar Kapur

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur says that he never had a career and that life, for him, has always been an adventure.

Kapur was questioned by a troll, who asked him if “anything was left in his career”. To that, the filmmaker replied: “I never had a career. I dropped that word from my life when I was 24 and walked away from a successful ‘career’ as a chartered accountant in London. Since then, life has been, is, and will always be an adventure. On this journey I’ve done so many things. Including making films.”

Kapur is known for his worksinHindiand international cinema. He is known in Bollywood for his recurring role in the TV series Khandan in the mid1980s and his directorial debut with the classic Bollywood film Masoom in 1983, following which he made the blockbuster comedy Mr India (1987).

He gained international recognition with the 1994 Hindi film Bandit Queen, based on Mala Sen’s biography of the banditturned-politician Phoolan Devi, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

The film was also premiered in the Directors Fortnight section of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

On the international scene, his historical biopic Elizabeth (1998) was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nom for Cate Blanchett, and a Best Picture nomination as well. That film had 12 BAFTA nominations, including a Best Director nom for Kapur, and it won five of those.

Kapur has acted in a few films, too, and was seen in both the Vishwaroopam films, alongside Kamal Haasan.

PHOTOL FOTOCORP Shekhar Kapur has made his mark internationally