Rishi Kapoor: There are a lot of actors who bloody don’t know what acting is all about

Rishi Kapoor never minces words and believes in speaking straightforwardly about anything and anyone. In an interaction with a leading Indian daily, Rishi Kapoor was asked to opinionate about films, he said, "I’ve always believed that films should be heavy on content, which is why I have acted in so many, during my time. Prem Rog (1982), Damini (1993), Tawaif (1985) were all content-based films, not made on a huge scale. They might not have been high on action, but were not nonsensical films. They (filmmakers) try to glorify the action more today, and even technically, they are more glossed over."

Rishi Kapoor mentioned that there are a lot of untalented actors. "You see, actors will have to change their approach. Eventually, only actors will survive, stars won’t. Stars will fade out. The system of being just good looking and bagging a good film — that kind of cinema — female or male — both will [soon] finish. You have to be a good actor. I shouldn’t be saying this but there are a lot of so-called actors also in this cinema who bloody don’t know what acting is all about," said the actor.

Opinionating about young filmmakers and actors and their preference of films, he said, "You see, all different kinds of films like Hindi Medium (starring Irrfan ) and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (starring Ayushmann Khurrana and Bhumi Pednekar) and many more are being made now. And more importantly, they are being appreciated, too. So, thankfully, this generation is focused."

He added, "Sometimes, to be a part of big-budget film, actors go in for safer bets, so as to make the film acceptable among both the audiences — single theatre and multiplex audience. That’s where Indian cinema becomes regressive."

Talking about Hindi films being screened at international film festivals, but fail to garner positive response, he said, "I don’t think film festivals make any significant difference to the industry. Barring a few, we don’t make films for festivals. We generally make them for a large audience. As a matter of fact, we mostly make commercial films."