The titular character in Hansal Mehta바카라s Faraaz (2023) doesn바카라t truly show up on screen till the final 20 minutes of its efficient 112-minute runtime. In an industry where grandstanding is the norm, this was a brave choice바카라especially for an actor, who is trying to prove his mettle in his first film. Zahan Kapoor, grandson of Shashi Kapoor, didn바카라t quite get the launch like some of his cousins did. He lurked on our screens. What truly surprised me about Mehta바카라s film is the manner in which he depicts a young boy바카라s coming-of-age, boiling it down to a choice. At a time when the youth are being misled in all directions, it was refreshing to see someone reflect the idealism of youth바카라making it aspirational without appearing inorganic. 바카라Only after going through the filming process did I understand it was all building up to this very undervalued conviction바카라it바카라s not the flashy thing,바카라 says Kapoor in a video call with Outlook.
Zahan Kapoor바카라s phone hasn바카라t stopped ringing in the last three months, since the release of Black Warrant (2025), where he played Sunil Kumar Gupta, one of the jailers of Tihar in the early 1980s. After the muted response that Kapoor got for his debut film, it was Vikramaditya Motwane바카라s show that proved to be 바카라star-making바카라 as per industry parlance. The show makes spectacular use of Kapoor바카라s diminutive frame to tell an underdog story. Kapoor showed his flourishes as an actor too, navigating the difficult path of invoking a consistent 1980s English dialect, in the way he says 바카라Maine Laa ki padhayi ki hai바카라 (I바카라ve studied Law). It바카라s the kind of confident, high-wire act that one rarely sees from a young actor in contemporary Bollywood.
Not someone who fits the generic mould of the Bollywood 바카라hero바카라, Kapoor has been deliberating over his next move for nearly a year now. He바카라s anxious about making the 바카라right바카라 choice in the follow-up to all the appreciation. He realises how rare such unanimous praise is. So, he바카라s trying to savour it, while also cautiously bracing himself for when the bouquets will stop.
Talking about his decade-long gestating period before his Bollywood debut and what it taught him about patience, his aversion to 바카라manufactured relevance바카라, and how he바카라s mindful about the privileged position he바카라s in, Kapoor reveals his myriad reflections.
Edited excerpts:
I heard you say something very interesting in an interview바카라about how you know the reception of Black Warrant is rare. That바카라s a very wise thing to say for an actor starting out바카라
I think this wisdom is a mix of a lot of things. I바카라ve had the good fortune of observing people in my periphery, and I바카라ve seen enough to know this is not something to hold on to. Even the A-listers in my family바카라their dedication is their work. It바카라s not result-oriented, but process-oriented. I바카라m a relative newcomer, but I바카라ve been working full-time since 2010. I was more behind the production than in front of the camera. And then I바카라ve been training as an actor since 2012-13. I바카라m aware of how much work goes into an acting career, and how much harvest you end up doing. The reality check is not too far away. I know people who come from the outside, taste some success, and their primary concern becomes to hold on to this relevance. The grace comes from knowing you can바카라t hold on to it바카라you can only gratefully accept it and let it pass through you.
One of the first pieces of advice I got after Black Warrant바카라s release was, 바카라PR karaa lo. Ab bhi time hai, yeh nikal jaayega. I regret not doing it when I was in your position.바카라 This is coming from a place of concern and I can be grateful for it. But I don바카라t necessarily have to act on someone else바카라s concern. Thankfully, even now that you바카라re calling three months after Black Warrant came out, I바카라m glad to admit that I바카라ve spent no money on PR. I바카라ve said if there is interest, I will engage with it honestly. I바카라m lucky it바카라s working for now.
Being in the proximity of a family who has seen extraordinary fame and also lost it, what바카라s a lesson you바카라ve learned and applied?
I have seen Ranbir (Kapoor) and Kareena (Kapoor Khan) at our annual Christmas gathering and I바카라ve seen them in different moods, depending on the latest project they바카라ve been attached to. I바카라ve seen the fatigue of a film, whose shoot has been physically very demanding, or they바카라ve just come off a release and it바카라s not done too well. For example, Tamasha (2015) didn바카라t do very well, even though it바카라s made with a lot of heart. You see someone disappointed, but you also see their perseverance. My attachment should not be with what has passed바카라it should be with the work at hand.
My father would joke about this other thing바카라he could track the success of his father바카라s career based on his birthday, how many bouquets would land up at our doorstep. If it was doing well, our home would be full. And if his career wasn바카라t tracking well, there would be fewer bouquets. So, I do realise I바카라m in the phase now, where I바카라m getting a bunch of metaphorical bouquets, but this won바카라t always be the case. I just have to remind myself. It will obviously still hurt, but it바카라s fine. We바카라ll get through the hurt also.
When you were exploring the possibilities of an acting career, do you remember your initial thoughts? A Bollywood hero has these rigid requirements바카라did it plant doubts in your head?
Yeah, I was very scared. I felt like I really needed to figure out how to do this in a way that I바카라d feel confident about it바카라not in a deluded way, but in a self-assured way. I knew that it takes time to learn a skill and that there is a certain amount of fear and apprehension involved because you know you're not as skilful as you would like to be바카라you know your taste may be much higher than your ability to execute something. So I was aware of all of that, and then of course, there was some advantage where I have enough proximity to the world where this can be a serious consideration. To be an artist in any discipline is a combination of feeling the frustration and the length of the insecurity of the hunger of wanting more.
How long was this wait from the moment you decided you wanted to pursue a career in acting to doing your first acting gig?
Technically, I would say my first real acting gig was seven years after I decided I wanted to try and pursue this. And my first release, Faraaz, was 10 years after. 2022 is when we had the BFI screening premiere, and then it released in February 2023.
Seven years is a long period, right? Did it ever put doubts in your head?
Yeah, lots of existential doubts man. Especially I think 2016 to 2019바카라those 3 years were probably the hardest.
One was, I think I looked younger than I was supposed to. So, there was a waiting game. Then there was the question of which opportunity is deemed correct and how must one navigate that? How must one actually find that kind of an opportunity? Then there was the frustration of trying to and not finding that. For example, I worked in production since I was 15 or 16. I started working full-time at 17. I was behind the camera. I wanted to be a filmmaker. I worked my way up. Everything was a process of getting your hands dirty. No institutions of training, but practical training, and then workshops. It was all based on 바카라Do the work and that's how you learn바카라.
In acting, I was not allowed to climb the ladder. Unlike Hollywood, where Timothee Chalamet can play a small part in Interstellar and then go on to become a headlining mega star. How many people have that career trajectory here? The people who inspire me are definitely Vicky Kaushal, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao바카라they have gone from the small film to the big film. In Hollywood, it seems to be the norm바카라just look at the cast of the Manson family in Once Upon a Time바카라 in Hollywood (2019).
The perception was that you will not be taken seriously because of the expectation from your family name. Even now the question is, 바카라How come you did Faraaz? How come you didn't do something else?바카라 Now imagine if I did a small role. It바카라s really infuriating.
So I asked Adarsh (Gourav) about this, and he said after a point he stopped seeing his physicality as an impediment, and began using it. Did you have such a moment?
Definitely! I think it comes through craft, confidence and a certain amount of self-awareness and acceptance. You know what, I'll do soft and diminutive. At the same time, I'm very confident and physically capable바카라I do things that are challenging for most extremely fit human beings. I ride horses, I play polo, I surf. I'm physically active, strong, more muscular now than I was when I shot Black Warrant.
I know I바카라m not six feet tall, but I'm capable of doing things바카라my relationship with my body, my health and fitness ensure my ability to express myself with my body and voice. It's my prerogative to stay fit and healthy. That doesn't mean I need to look a certain way, it means I need to move a certain way. I don't go to a gym; I have a basement where I have roman rings, a couple of kettle bells. I picked up a functional kind of training called rope flow. I teach myself new skills all the time like skateboarding and riding a bike.
Can you tell me a bit about the day you came back from the premiere of Faraaz바카라what were you feeling?
There wasn바카라t a premiere per se, but we did have a screening at BFI, London. About 70% of the same crew was shooting Buckingham Murders (2023) around then, so they flew me and Aditya (Rawal) out for it. It was one of the happiest days of my life. It was a kind of homecoming for me, because around a decade back in 2013, it was in London that I spent around 4-5 months doing theatre workshops and courses. I wanted to get outside the expectation bubble of the Hindi film industry. I needed to get away and find my own way into the work, and those few months in London embedded in me a deep respect for the craft.
One of the best courses I did there was for the National Youth Theatre. They do a bunch of these ensemble productions, and work primarily with actors in the age bracket of 16-25. They believe in a very hands-on approach, and the selection is audition-based, so I auditioned with thousands of applicants. I was probably the only person from South-East Asia. It바카라s not something you just pay yourself through바카라and I got a couple of meaty parts in the productions that they did, which really boosted my confidence as an actor. It would take 10 years from thereon for me to star in a feature film, but it was just serendipitous that it was in London that I got to come back as a young professional, and watch myself on the big screen for the first time in a Hindi film.
Do you think with the nepotism debate, people say everything other than what they really should? Sitting on the outside, I can see a very easy solution to it.
A problem here is that most of us want an answer that is neat, simple and clean. It has to be one thing, instead of many things. Also, I think a lot of times when people are calling out privilege, they바카라re also voicing their frustration. There바카라s anger and irritation in the way people speak about it. I can acknowledge the frustration바카라all it needs is some compassion.
On the other hand, when someone is constantly judged and reminded of their privilege, I can feel their frustration about how it바카라s been made to feel a vulnerable point for someone. You have to compensate, you have to try and dissociate with the word, because it바카라s made to feel like a dirty word. It바카라s a very difficult conversation to have. And there바카라s a lot of pain, emotional insecurity and fear attached to both sides.
But do you think people can be a little less tone-deaf when it comes to acknowledging their privilege? That바카라s the bare minimum, right? Like you did in the previous question?
Of course! And that바카라s a good way to put it. By tone-deaf you mean바카라are you capable of listening to a room? It바카라s one thing you really have to ask yourself바카라are you bringing your insecurities to the conversation? Can you acknowledge that you don바카라t know what it바카라s like to be this other person바카라the same way that they wouldn바카라t know what it is to be me?
Commercial cinema has a habit of homogenising talent바카라everyone looks the same, talks the same way, does the same things. Is it hard to hold on to your individuality here?
It was hard in the beginning, because I didn바카라t really fit into a type. I was at a Filmfare thing the other day, and someone was saying how everyone feels like they바카라re cut from the same cloth. I understand the frustration, being unable to see much novelty around. But what you바카라re actually seeing is risk mitigation바카라you바카라re trying to be safe, catering to a certainty. It바카라s a way to arrive at the middle of the Venn diagram.
I believe nothing resonates like authenticity. Even with films, it might not always work, but you can smell the honesty and authenticity in a project. I think that바카라s one of my deepest values바카라to reflect my authentic self, but in a kaleidoscopic manner, through myriad characters.
Your choices till now have been slightly to the left of the field. Now, after tasting success, do you find yourself moving slightly closer to the middle of the Venn diagram?
Yes, I want to push the envelope as much as I can by trying to find work that is closer to the middle of the Venn diagram, while also doing what I바카라ve done till now. I like the contrast. Also, I have inspiration very close to home: my grandfather did it long ago, where he was able to cater to the tone of a commercial film and also world cinema at large. Later on, you see Irrfan do it, and I think even someone like Ishaan (Khatter) is doing it in his own way, Adarsh (Gourav) too. So yes, I바카라d like to try something more mainstream but also bring myself to it.
I want to touch upon Sunil Kumar Gupta바카라s accent, it바카라s a tight-rope act. What바카라s the process of getting just the right amount of inflection? How do you know it바카라s working?
I didn바카라t know if it was working. I remember Satyanshu (Singh, co-creator of Black Warrant) was nervous. There바카라s this opening scene, where I say 바카라Pleej!바카라 And Satyanshu groaned a bit. But then Vikram (Motwane) Sir gave me the go ahead, and I just ran with it. For some reason, Vikram sir believed in it, and Satyanshu was worried that the accent might take people out of the character. I was extremely nervous. I spoke to Aditya (Rawal) and told him, 바카라Maine angrezi bigaad di hai.바카라 And what바카라s more scary is nobody else has gone for it. I had a scene with Pratibha Sen, where she바카라s speaking in posh South Delhi English. And I just went for it, not really knowing how I might end up looking.
There was a possibility I could have come out looking very silly. But thanks to my dialect coach, Amitoj Grewal, he was my anchor. We found a way to alter the classical pronunciations like, 바카라there바카라 is 바카라they-er바카라, here is 바카라hay-er바카라. I바카라m geeky like that. I wrote down all my lines in Devanagari in the phonetic way that I want to say it바카라like 바카라Mujhse nahi hoga바카라 becomes 바카라Musse nahi hoga바카라바카라and that바카라s how you bring ownership to it. Also, filling your ears with the sound of the real man바카라I would listen to interviews, recordings of Sunil Gupta on YouTube, figuring out how he would say things like 바카라kuh-noon ke hisaab se바카라, or how he pronounces 바카라Law ki padhayi바카라 as 바카라Laa ki padhayi바카라; it바카라s a very 80s thing. I바카라m just trying to fill my ears with the flavour of the region바카라Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh.
Does a project바카라s politics matter to you? Can you suss it out early on in the script?
I바카라m not a huge fan of confirmation bias. If I바카라ve already decided what my politics for a project is, and it is merely justifying it바카라that바카라s what we call a hagiography, right? As an audience, I find that manipulative바카라like the project is compelling me to think in a way, asking for my agreement. What I바카라d like personally is that you make some space for me to walk along with you, as the story goes on. We can still disagree, with me having space, as opposed to you asking me to agree, and I find it restrictive. I don바카라t have a very strong political agenda, so to speak바카라it바카라s not something I바카라m seeking. There are many people who have strong political convictions, and their intent is to solidify those convictions through that work. I don바카라t have such political convictions yet. I바카라m interested in things deeper than that.
