Rishi Kapoor says gymming not a tool to become good actor

Rishi Kapoor (Photo: IANS)


Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor is disheartened that aspiring actors are more focused on gymming than the craft. The 65-year-old veteran actor believes that joining an institute to polish their craft is what aspiring actors should do than hitting the gym. Rishi Kapoor said he is in favour of joining film schools or getting trained on the sets, as he believes an actor can do well by “observing” their seniors.

Speaking to PTI, the actor said, “I am observing that to become an actor, people say, they want to join gym. Why join a gym? Why don’t you join an institute where they teach you how to act? You must work with a good director and work in a film where you have good actors, so you should observe the actor and understand things.”

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Presenting his son Ranbir Kapoor, who worked as an assistant director to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rishi Kapoor said, “Observation is a big tool for any actor. You observe and you bank it in your mind. I don’t know why all these actors think to go to a gym or riding horses or learning how to fight are the steps to becoming an actor. It is absolute bulls*** and nonsense.”

Talking about his co-star Amitabh Bachchan, who earned the sobriquet of ‘Angry Young Man’ in the early ’80s, “Never had the body, he never had the muscles”, and yet went on to become one of the biggest action stars of Hindi cinema through hard work and dedication.

“There is no technique (to my acting). I am a natural actor. I try to keep it spontaneous as far as possible. That is my mantra,” he further added.

When Rishi made his debut with Bobby in 1973, he was immediately slotted in the “lover boy” category. The actor, however, said being “jacketed into an image” worked as a disadvantage for him.

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“My image was that of a romantic, soft hero. It worked as a disadvantage for me at a time when action heroes were more successful. But there’s one thing, non-actors will not survive. They will have to be good at their craft and skills,” he said.

On the work front, Rishi Kapoor will be featuring in 102 Not Out alongside Amitabh Bachchan. The Umesh Shukla directorial is set to hit the theatres on May 4.

-With PTI inputs