Mid-Day Anniversary Special: Zahan Kapoor on his love for cinema and theatre

On a rainy afternoon at Prithvi Theatre, the echoes of the Kapoor legacy slip easily through its walls. Among the wandering students and theatre-goers sipping on cutting chai in the courtyard stands Zahan Kapoor, entirely at home in this green oasis that once belonged to the dreams of his great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor.

There is something both inevitable and wholly fresh about Kapoor’s presence here, a young actor forging his first big moment where his roots run deepest. His first full-length Hindi play, Pitaji Please, marked a milestone for him as an actor, instilling him into the theatre scene in the city. Today Kapoor has broken many more milestones with his super-hit Netflix release, Black Warrant.

“Well, I was born and brought up in Mumbai, so my relationship extends my entire life. It is a city that I think is truly unique for many, many reasons. Everyone is out here to prove something every day. And it’s very, very exciting to be a resident of this city,” he said with wide-eyed wonder. 

Before Pitaji Please, Kapoor had only understudied, trained, and workshopped — dipping his toes into a craft that would, in time, demand all of him. “I was very happy to be doing Pitaji Please because it was with people who I really enjoyed being around and working with Makarand Deshpande and Swanand Kirkire, and my three co-actors: Aakanksha Gade, Madhuri Gawli and Snehal Mandgulkar. We had so much fun doing our rehearsals. And the first show, I was very nervous because a lot of family was coming. They were going to see it for the first time. You want to make a good impression. So I’m very happy that it happened over here.”

Kapoor was in his element at Prithvi. He ordered his favourite meal and offered the many different kinds of famous teas to this writer. There was pride in his eyes when he insisted that we have the famous Sulemani chai. “My first performance in Mumbai was at Prithvi. And my second venue that I performed at was Royal Opera House, which also has a very deep family connection with my great grandfather.”

Kapoor said about his love for cinema and theatre, “Maybe, I would choose theatre. But it’s strange because I grew up, my first love is cinema, definitely. I love the cinematic medium; I love the magic of it. I grew to love theatre, it was a later discovery, something I learned. That addiction you get from feeling the response of an audience and performing like that is very special, but at the same time, I try not to get too attached to that. It’s a dangerous line, because you end up pandering to the audience. They say rightly don’t play for the applause play for the truth and your co-actor, who you are in the scene with. Be truthful, and the audience will take care of themselves.”