Kolkata: Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor feels the audience of Indian cinema has come a long way from accepting the so-called 'formula film' that used to work during his time.
"The audience at our time were very forgiving and innocent. But those kinds of films won't work now. The kids now have so much exposure to everything that their way of looking at things have changed. The audience of today wants everything about the film to be terrific," he said at a session in Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet on Saturday.
"The demand of the people have changed and so has the films. The present actors now get to experiment with their characters. We did not have that scope in our time," he said.
The actor, who recently released his autobiography 'Khullam Khulla', was at his candid best when he described the films of his era as "formula films" and claimed himself to be "the right person at the wrong time."
"In our time, it was formula films. Rich girl poor boy and vice versa. Kids used to get lost at the beginning of a film and reunite at the end. Every actor in the 70s and 80s have done at least four films on that same theme of lost and found brothers," Kapoor said evoking a roll of laughter from the audience.
The veteran actor and producer said films are sometimes made ahead of their time and thus do not get the box office success. But the same films can be successful at a different period if the audience likes it.
"Some films are made ahead of time. I did a few films like Dusra Admi that flopped in my time, but they would have worked now as there is an audience for that kind of content. Mera Naam Joker was the biggest loser at that time for my family, right now that is the biggest money spinner for R.K. films banner," he said.
Talking about his role in 2016-hit Kapoor and Sons where he played a barely recognisable 90-year-old, the actor said the passion for acting is what drove him to do that film and prove his critics wrong.
"I had no reference points for that character and it used to take me five and a half hours to do the makeup and one more hour to remove it. I surprised myself with the roll. For an impatient man like me, it was almost impossible to sit that long," Kapoor said adding that he twice thought of quitting the film.
"People said the film will not work but I surprised myself with that role because the very thought that I am an actor and I have that passion for acting drove me. I kept enjoying my role the more I was getting more into my character. Then I decided to take it up as a challenge," he added.
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