February 20, 2023
Anil Kapoor, one of Bollywood’s better-known stars in the west recently spoke about being cast in Disney’s spy drama, The Night Manager.
The actor told Hollywood Reporter that: "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."
The Slumdog Millionaire star said he likes playing layered characters like Shelly Rungta - an arms dealer- played by Hugh Laurie in the original.
Responding to a question the actor stated he’s is very comfortable in the streaming space now, after having done AK vs AK and Thaar for Netflix. He also commended streaming platforms, saying that "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."
The series which is based on an espionage novel by John Le Carre, is created by Sandeep Modi and narrates the story of an arms dealer played by Anil Kapoor whose inner circle is infiltrated by an intelligence officer, played by Aditya Roy Kapur. The series which began streaming on February 17 is set in Bangladesh and certainly delivers the goods.