Mumbai: Actor Anil Kapoor has said he is looking forward to working with filmmaker Karan Johar in the upcoming period-drama Takht”.
“I knew Karan’s dad (late Yash Johar) well. I always wanted to work with his dad but that never happened. Now, I am feeling happy that I am working with Karan in ‘Takht’. I look forward to work with him in that film and I am grateful to Karan that he gave me the opportunity to work in his film,” said Kapoor, while addressing the media at the launch of author Khalid Mohamed’s book titled “The Aladia Sisters”.
Johar was also present at the event on Monday in Mumbai, along with Javed Akthar and Asha Parekh.
Mohamed has been a journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director, and Johar recalled a close association with the author for decades. “Khalid is one of the closest people I have known, since I was 12. He is one of the few people who attended my parents’ wedding. My absolute admiration for Khalid began when I started reading his film reviews because those were not only analytical, they were academic in approach and were also hysterical! They were funny . Today, when you read the current generation’s reviews who try to circumvent analysis with humour, you realise the origin of that is Khalid Mohamed,” said Johar.
He added: “He (Khalid Mohamed) was the first person when it comes to media that began writing on cinema with a sense of humour. Of course, the sense of humour was invariably at the cost of films and the filmmakers and that, I suppose, was more fun when you watched the particular film. I have got really good reviews from Khalid for my films and maybe that’s the reason I am sitting here. I feel Khalid is truly a force of nature when it came to media and journalism, so I would like to congratulate him for everything he has achieved from screenwriting to (writing in) media, now as a novelist.”
Johar’s next film “Takht” is a period drama set in the Mughal era. It chronicles the story of the two warring Mughal princes, Aurangzeb and Dara Shukoh. While Ranveer Singh plays Dara, Vicky Kaushal is cast as Aurangzeb.
The multistarrer film “Takht” also features Anil Kapoor as Shah Jahan, Kareena Kapoor as Jahanara Begum and Alia Bhatt as Dilras Banu. Bhumi Pednekar and Janhvi Kapoor also feature in the cast.