‘Mera dharam hain paisa, main paise ki puja karta hoon’
Annu Kapoor is not someone who minces his words. He has often spoken about how he has not got good offers from TV for long and that he is still trying to get the popular ’90s show Antakshari (1994) back on TV. And, without any hesitation, he says that he is ready to work on TV if he is given proper remuneration.
“TV is a wonderful medium. I respect it but I have not got any good offers of late. I work for money. Paisa mera dharam hain, main paise ki puja karta hoon. The two things that I won’t do for money is betray my country or harm anyone,” says Annu, who has done TV shows such as Ajnabi, The Golden Era and Chota Packet Bada Dhamaka.
Mention Antakshari and the veteran actor gets visibly disturbed. “I’m yet to understand how channels work? It’s not that all their programmes are a hit or a flop. When I approached them, they said ‘Let’s do something new’. But, my point is why will we revamp the show? If you want to do something new, then bring a new show,” he says.
Kapoor says that times have changed. “There was a time when good actors from theatre background and wellresearched people were part of the medium. Now, this new gang of people from ad world, who have taken over TV, usually deteriorate good concepts. Also, I don’t understand why they want to follow formats that are already there. This copycat attitude is something I don’t get,” says the 62-year-old actor.
We wonder if he watches TV and are there any particular shows that he would like to work on? “With due respect to everyone, I am not interested in watching TV or films. Mujhe interest nahi hain kyun ki woh meri priority nahi hai. I love reading books and they entertain me. I want to know about Astro Physics and not all these,” he says.