Zahan Kapoor, grandson of legendary actor Shashi Kapoor and second cousin to Ranbir Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, and Kareena Kapoor Khan, is making a mark in the industry. After debuting with Faraaz (2022) and earning praise for his OTT show Black Warrant, Zahan recently shared an unexpected source of inspiration for his acting journey—Aamir Khan’s 2000 film Mela.
During a conversation with Fever FM, Zahan recalled his first impression of Aamir’s work, saying, “My memory is actually strangely my first impression, I was saying this earlier, the base of your work is Mela. That is the first film I have seen. And after that, I don’t know the earlier works actually. I mean, I saw some later. But after that, the 2000s, and then Lagaan, Dil Chahta Hai, and then that impression.”
He further revealed his admiration for directors’ visions, sharing, “I remember when I got interested in cinema, I told my mom, I want a poster signed by directors. Because I am getting influenced by their vision. I don’t want an actor’s sign. So I had Lagaan’s poster and Dil Chahta Hai’s poster amongst a few others. Two of your films were there out of 5-7 posters.”
Zahan then asked Aamir about his decision-making process in choosing projects. To this, Aamir responded, “Well, I have gone with my heart, even as a producer. So when I did Peepli Live, I just loved the story. I liked the story a lot. Even Delhi Belly, when I read the script, I just cracked up. And so my taste is also varied. A lot of people have one kind of taste, I don’t. I have a very varied taste and all kinds of genres excite me.”
Aamir further emphasized his desire to keep his work fresh, stating, “I like to do mixed stuff. I also like to surprise myself. I also want to surprise my audience. So I always try to make sure that what I did in the last film or the last 2-3 films, should be a little different from that. I also find it interesting, and the audience also finds it interesting if I do something different.”
