Anil Kapoor Turns 70 on December 24, and Mr. India Is Still the Best Place to Start

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Anil Kapoor turns 70 on December 24. He has spent almost five decades in Hindi cinema, moving from romantic leads to action heroes and, more recently, to streaming shows and Hollywood productions. He is rarely the most famous person in a scene, but he is usually the one you remember.

Photo: Bollywood Hungama, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mr. India (1987) is the film that made him a star for a wider audience. He plays Arun Verma, who becomes invisible with the help of a gadget, and he shares the screen with Sridevi in a film that is great fun. The invisibility watch is silly, and the film knows it.

Photo: Laura Lee Dooley, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Nayak (2001) shows a different side of him. Directed by S. Shankar, it has him as a television journalist who becomes chief minister for a single day, and the film asks what a politician would do with real power. He handles the change in tone well.

Photo: unknown photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) brought him to a global audience. He plays the quiz show host who is certain that Jamal is cheating, and he has a lot of fun with the part. He has kept working steadily on television and in streaming projects, which is not something every star of his era has managed.

Photo: unknown photographer, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Which Anil Kapoor film would you pick first? I still go back to Mr. India for the gadget and the grin, but Nayak is the one that surprised me most.