Anil Kapoor on What Made Madhuri Dixit Angry on Sets of ‘Pukar’

It’s been 20 years since Pukar released. A Rajkumar Santoshi film that won Anil Kapoor his first National Award, the film is about Major Jaidev who becomes a national hero after saving a politician from the clutches of a dreaded terrorist. However, things change when the terrorist joins hands with his childhood friend Anjali (Madhuri Dixit) to ruin his life.

We caught up with the actor who told us all about his experience shooting for the film, his on-screen chemistry with Madhuri Dixit and more.

It’s been 20 years that Pukar released..

Yes, one of my most favourite films. And that’s a film which I, you know, got my first national award for as the best actor. And it was wonderful to receive the award from the president of our country. A film, which I’m very proud of. Great to work with Rajkumar Santoshi and Madhuri. We put everything in the film and worked, but the results were not as much as we really expected from the box office’s point of view. And I see this one film, which can be made again, and I would like to do it again, with a different kind of ending, and make it even more gritty and real. I think it’ll work.

And do you think somebody else should play the role or you only want to play the role?

I think Harsh can do it.

You and Madhu Dixit, a hit jodi. After that film, you all did Total Dhamal. How have things changed? The equation between you two as co-stars?

I think it’s become better. It’s always very good. We really got along very well. I got along very well with the family also. Somewhere we all are well settled in our lives and you know, and so it’s much more calmer, much more better. And you know, she’s wonderful. She’s always been wonderful. And we’ve done some great work and hope to do some more great work together.

There was one scene where Jai is getting court martial. How difficult was that scene to shoot?

We did it in one afternoon. A few hours and I was really, you know, I just, you know, I think one of the true moments of, you know, everything was so real. And there’s not a fake. Not one moment of fakeness is there in every emotion which has been portrayed on screen.

There’s a song ‘Kismat Se Tum Jo Mile Ho’. Where did you guys shoot that, because Madhuri looks like she is going to freeze to death?

That’s my favourite song. I love the song. We shot it in Alaska, in Anchorage and, you know, for 15 to 17 days, we kept on going and there was bad weather. So we couldn’t fly; the choppers refused to fly. There was a kind of a mutiny which was happening in the entire team that we want to go back to India. But ultimately when we were really thinking, “Let’s shoot is somewhere else,” and that day, we reached and the helicopter took off, and we shot the song. And – god bless his soul – Ashok Mehta. What a great job he did without any lights,  without anything.

I mean I died looking at Madhuri.

Madhuri is Madhuri. She is special. She is such a thorough professional, you know, and that’s the only time she’s really got angry. I have never seen her so angry. She actually wanted to kill everybody.

Why did she get angry?

Because there’s another crazy co-star, Anil Kapoor. I was like her sari is not really flowing properly, let’s blow it with the helicopter blades. So she wanted to come and strangle me. Did you all do that? Yeah, we did it. Yeah, yeah. My god! Anybody would get annoyed. She got angry but I asked her after that, “You got your shot right?” She said, “Yes, we got the shot.”

And when did you see the ‘Kay Sera Sera’ song? Her and Prabhudeva dancing. And what was your reaction?

My reaction was thank god I’m not there in the dance song. Yeah, thank god. I just had to give those romantic expressions. Poor people. They worked so hard, did so many rehearsals. Madhuri really worked very hard for that song. And you can see the result – it’s a song you see today also, you’d love it.