Important to make women-led films: Anil Kapoor hail success of ‘Crew’

Credits film's co-producer and his daughter Rhea Kapoor for not shying away from presenting “women as leading men” in her movies

Mumbai: One shouldn’t be afraid to make women-led films fearing its fate at the box office, says actor-producer Anil Kapoor, who has backed movies such as Aisha, Veere Di Wedding, and most recently, Crew.

Crew, starring Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon, amassed over Rs 150 crore at the box office worldwide. After its theatrical release in March, the heist comedy started streaming on Netflix from last month.

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Directed by Rajesh A Krishnan, the Hindi film also features Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma. It was produced by Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network.

Asked what the success of a women-led film like Crew means to him as a producer, Kapoor said: “I’m so happy that Crew was such a big success not only in the theatres but even on Netflix. It did fantastic numbers. This is the reason why it is important to continue working so that we can do these things (Crew), which other people are afraid to do. If we have the opportunity to make these films, some will work, some won’t but at least we should try to make these films,” he added.

The 67-year-old credited film’s co-producer and his daughter Rhea Kapoor for not shying away from presenting “women as leading men” in her movies.

“Rhea has made films with girls and presented them like leading men. More than 95 per cent of the work that she has done has been successful. She is understated, she doesn’t do publicity. There are certain people who are creative and do a lot of innovative things but keep quiet about it. Rhea is one of those people,” he said.

According to Kapoor, all his children — Rhea and actors Sonam and Harshvardhan — have carved a niche for themselves in the Hindi film industry with their unconventional choices.

“Rhea is doing something out-of-the-box. Even Harsh does different kinds of films, he chooses films that he wants to do at his own pace, and works with directors that he wants to work with. He is doing what he believes in. All three children have made a niche (for) themselves. You can’t say they are number one or are big stars but they are happy in what they are doing. They have created their own mark. This is just the beginning for them, I’ve been here for 45 years. They still have a long way to go, they’ve to work for 50 to 60 years,” he said.

The actor currently serves as the host of the reality series Bigg Boss OTT 3, which premiered on JioCinema Premium on June 21. He has stepped in for his longtime friend and superstar Salman Khan.

“The challenge is that it is a non-scripted show. Recently, I did a show with Disney International that was a fiction show, but they shot it as a non-fiction show. I feel everyone likes watching non-fiction shows,” he said.

Kapoor may not have followed all the seasons of Bigg Boss, but said he thoroughly enjoyed watching some of the celebrity contestants like the late TV star Siddharth Shukla and comedian Munawar Faruqui.

Recently, the actor also started training for his upcoming film Subedaar, billed as an adrenaline-fuelled action drama. It will be directed by Suresh Triveni of Tumhari Sulu fame.

The latest edition of Bigg Boss OTT features actors Ranvir Shorey, Sana Makbul Khan, Sai Ketan Rao, Sana Sultana, Paulomi Das, rapper Naved Shaikh (Naezy), veteran journalist Deepak Chaurasia, renowned astrologer Munisha Khatwani, boxer Neeraj Goyat, ‘vada pav girl’ Chandrika Dixit, influencers Vishal Pandey, Lovekesh Kataria, Armaan Malik, Kritika Malik, Payal Malik, and Shivani Kumari.