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Anil Kapoor Talks ‘Night Manager’ Indian Adaptation, Playing Villains and Taking Risks

Anil Kapoor has never been afraid of taking risks. The Indian film icon, amongst the best-known Bollywood stars in the West after starring in 24, Slumdog Millionaire and Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, has always sought to blaze a trail, first by working in television well before it became acceptable for film stars in India to do so, and most recently by embracing projects for streaming platforms. 

Kapoor’s latest endeavor is the Disney+ Hotstar streaming original limited series The Night Manager, which launched on the platform on Feb. 17. Created by Sandeep Modi, the spy drama is an adaptation of John le Carré’s 1993 novel of the same name. The series tells the story of Shaan Sengupta (Aditya Roy Kapur), an Indian intelligence operative who goes undercover as a hotel night manager at a luxury resort in Bangladesh to surveil arms dealer Shailendra “Shelly” Rungta (Kapoor). The thriller also stars Sobhita Dhulipala, Tillotama Shome, Ravi Behl, Rukhsar Rehman and Saswata Chatterjee. 

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The Indian adaptation of Le Carré’s book transports the action to the subcontinent and the Middle East and is the second television adaptation after the BBC’s Emmy-winning series which was released in 2016 and starred Tom Hiddleston as the night manager and Hugh Laurie as the arms dealer. 

The Night Manager is Kapoor’s return to featuring in an episodic television drama since his run on Fox’s phenomenally successful 24, and its later Indian adaptation. Ahead of the show’s debut on Disney+ Hotstar, the always charming Kapoor spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his willingness to defy conventions expected of Indian actors, his love for playing villains, the advantages of working with streamers and his thoughts on a theatrical comeback for Bollywood. 

You’re a movie star and everyone knows you as a movie star. Is there still a little bit of a hangup with the audience when you do television, or is that not such an issue now? And how did your involvement in The Night Manager come about?  

[No hangups] now, earlier when I did 24, of course. The first time I really did something for television was international. I did 24 internationally with [Kiefer Sutherland] and Howard Gordon. At that time, everybody felt that I’d done movies and I’d been a movie star [so I can’t do television.] But I was very convinced because it’s an iconic show, I just wanted to be part of it. I was a huge fan of 24. After I did it, I spoke to the writers and the showrunner Howard and I told him I wanted to do [the show] in India. And he said only on one condition that I play Jack Bauer. Then he picked up his phone and talked to his friends at Fox and [we got it to India].

I thought it would be a cakewalk when [we took it to] India. It’s 24, I’m doing it. I kept on going to all the platforms at the time, but everybody felt it was suicidal for me to do television, but I was convinced. So I went ahead and did two seasons. And then, the third season [didn’t happen], because the budgets were too big. 

The Night Manager was pitched to me by Disney+ Hotstar. I liked my role, the role of [the arms dealer Roper in the BBC version], played by Hugh Laurie. I hadn’t seen [the BBC version] before the role was offered to me, but I saw it and I loved it and thought I must be a part of it. It’s something that I’ve never done in the past.

Were you a John le Carré fan before you did The Night Manager? 

It was my daughter Soonam Kapoor really. There are a lot of roles that I speak to my children about. Like, for example, working with Danny Boyle [on Slumdog Millionaire]. Obviously, I was aware of Danny Boyle’s work. I said to Soonam, ‘he did The Beach with DiCaprio,’ and she said, ‘forget DiCaprio dad, he did Trainspotting and you’re thinking about it not doing it!’ So when I told her I had been offered this show, she had read the book, and she had seen the [BBC adaptation], so said, ‘dad, it’s fantastic. You must do it.’

You’re playing an arms dealer in The Night Manager and he’s a morally compromised person. I’m going to betray my ignorance a little bit of your full filmography, but growing up, I’ve always seen you in films playing the villain. You play the villain very, very well… 

You won’t believe that when I travel abroad, they like to see me in this kind of character. Like when I did Slumdog, or when I did Mission: Impossible, people were very convinced by my performance [of playing a villain] [Laughs]. In India, of course, I have played the conventional leading man, the hero who’s on the right side, always the good guy. The guy who loves his family, sacrifices and come the end, beats up the villain and gets the girl. That’s what I’ve done for 40 years, most of the time. And love being that. At least, my longevity proves that.

So, which do you prefer playing? Do you play prefer playing the villain, or do you prefer playing the hero?

To be honest I go with my gut. I’m ready to get my teeth into whatever is exciting. Playing these kinds of characters like Shelly Rungta, he is supposedly the worst man in the world of course, but he’s a family, man, he’s charming. He sees that the end is going to be doomed, but he’s still loyal. He’s a friendly, friendly guy. He loves the good things in life, loves power. So I think for an actor, all these [layers] in one role is very, very exciting.

You’re working with Disney+ Hotstar and you’ve done two films recently with Netflix, so you’ve been working a lot with streaming companies. Are you comfortable in that space now?

I’m very comfortable. For me, it should be: I like my role, I like my director, I like the script. Because it’s the same thing, you know, on the sets. Okay. So I did AK vs AK and I did Thaar for Netflix, which were both received very well internationally. Both of them got good reviews.

Do you feel working with the streamers gives you much more international exposure?

I think it depends on the content. No matter what it is. If you do a good film, then it will fly. So yes, of course, it [is easier now], a click of a button and it will be streamed into 200 countries, that’s a huge advantage and the word of mouth is faster. When you do films, you are releasing in a few theaters, go to festivals, get popular and build the brand, and then release the film wider. So [streaming] is quicker. And I think it’s great for all of us actors, it’s great for technicians, for writers, directors, you know, if they, if they can put their work out and it’s seen everywhere.

So I was going to ask you a more general question about Bollywood coming back. South Indian films like RRR have done really well globally, and it’s getting award recognition in the West and things like that, but Bollywood’s kind of been kind of left behind until the latest Shah Rukh Khan film. Do you think Bollywood’s on the way back to where it was?

I think these are all patches that happen in business. Sometimes some platform does well, and sometimes some part of the country, where the talent is, suddenly comes out. Some of the filmmakers will be from the South, they will make some phenomenal films, and they become big successes. Sometimes there are some phenomenal [filmmakers] from West Bengal. I’ve been in this business for more than four decades, so I’ve seen this kind of situation [before]. As long as they’re Indian films, I’m very proud of them, and I’m very happy. Sometimes [South Indian cinema] does well, and sometimes [Bollywood] does well. Right now, for example, [Shah Rukh Khan’s] Pathaan is doing exceptionally well… the whole atmosphere and energy has changed completely in Bollywood and the Indian film industry.

Do you think there’s been a shift back toward the theatrical experience in India? Obviously, you have been working with streamers recently…

Everyone’s worried about this, but you have to be very [careful], you should understand what will work theatrically… So there are certain times when [it makes sense to go streaming]. For example, when [Netflix film AK vs AK] was pitched to me, Vikramaditya Motwane and me, that’s the filmmaker, we decided [to go streaming]. There were production companies that wanted to buy the film or fund the film so that we could release it theatrically. But we both took a decision that we must [take it to a streaming platform].

Like when I did television, I was one of the main one of the first mainstream actors who did a Netflix original. Now, obviously, there are others. It was a very, very intentional decision… You never know which film’s going to fly and what the feedback will be, but you have to make certain practical decisions, certain decisions, which are not so risky for all the people who put in the time and the money.

The Night Manager is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.