After contributing to this column for almost a decade one has figured that, often, food comes in the way of conversation. The personality, even if he is talking about food, considers the actual eating process as a speed breaker. But with producer Boney Kapoor it is the other way round. He answers only when he has tasted the food and savoured the flavour.
Made for this column, he comes from a background where films were discussed and even made over paranthas and chicken curry. He grew up around the table where Dharmendra would come and polish off quail meat made for a dozen. Or Sanjeev Kumar rushed in to savour the payas made by his mother. The more renowned Kapoor family, with whom his family shared their Peshwari roots, was often seen at young Boney’s home near R.K. Studios in Chembur. His father Surinder Kapoor started as a manager of Shammi Kapoor and Geeta Bali.
Kapoor remembers how Raj Kapoor would demand guchchhi (mushroom) pulao and Shashi Kapoor fuss over chicken masala. Those were the days when heroes didn’t have to take their shirts off. “Of course they followed a regimen but they were not too concerned because the heroines were equally well endowed,” reminisces Kapoor. “It was when Sri (Sridevi) lost weight for Chandni that the trend of really shapely heroines gathered momentum.”
Known as an indulgent producer, Kapoor carried on the family tradition. “Raj Kumar Santoshi would insist on narrating Pukar at my home. After more than a dozen sittings we discovered that it was his ploy to eat my mother’s food. Now Arjun demands jungli mutton because Ranbir (Kapoor) likes it.”
Born as Achal Kapoor, his choice of public name has always intrigued me. Boney reveals his brother Anil had almost taken his name. “If you look at the original credits of Ek Baar Kaho he was introduced as Achal Kapoor. Anil felt every second man in the country is called Anil. I found Achal too serious for film business. For me Boney was more boyish and carried warmth. Now if anyone calls me Achal I think somebody from school is calling me.” Fond of North Indian and Indian Chinese, we meet him at The Le Meridien’s Eau De Monsoon restaurant on a chilly January afternoon. Pointing to his rich belly, Kapoor, starting with chicken tikka, says, be it India or abroad the first thing he looks for is his culinary requirement. “If I can help it I take my chef along. When I travel to Chennai, though we have a chef there, we take our Mumbai chef along.”
“ Sri and Arjun are like speed breakers. They can caution me but can’t stop me from indulgence. ”
Well versed with South Indian delicacies, Kapoor’s association with Chettinad food goes back longer than his bond with Sridevi. A master raconteur, he tells us how South Indians films, the latest being Okkadu as Tevar and food got into his life with corn and spinach kabab providing the much needed breaks.
“When director Sikandar Khanna passed away during Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan , I had to put the film together with a new director. Despite good reviews the film didn’t do well. It was a big setback. I had to give up on my dream of becoming a director and took over the reins of production. Even as I was looking for a new script I figured the difference between the big production houses in Mumbai and those down South. In Mumbai most big producers were directors and people like Raj Kapoor and Manoj Kumar were actors as well. But in the South AVM, Gemini, Prasad Productions, etc, were only producing films and they had 80-90 per cent success rate.”
Kapoor studied their approach. Like at Monsoon restaurant he goes through the melange of morels and peas in exotic royal onion gravy. “Most of the films they made were either remakes or adaptations of films made in other South Indian languages. I didn’t know the legality of it but I understood this exchange of ideas which sometimes led to Hindi films was working well. At that time my father’s last hit was Shehzada , a remake of a Tamil film.”
So in 1979 he went to Chennai for almost a month. “After watching 40 Telugu films, on the 29th day I saw the Telugu version of Hum Paanch , which I got to know was an adaptation of a Kannada film.” From Chennai he rushed to Bangalore to buy the rights. He could not get a train or plane ticket so he took a bus. “The producer was being pursued by two others, Mohan Sehgal and Jaya Chakravarthy, Hema Malini’s mother. I thought the right way to get the rights is to outbid them. With no space to sit, I had to travel half way standing.”
But the result was worth the effort. Hum Paanch got started and with it his fascination for South Indian food. “Till then I only knew dosa and idli.” Bapu, who directed the Telugu and Hindi version, introduced him to Andhra food. “He was not a big eater but he was fussy about good food.” Suddenly, he stops to tell us if the camera were not there he would have liked to use his hands. And moves on to break bread with fenugreek flavoured chicken curry.
Years later he showed similar ingenuity when he signed Shekhar Kapur even before Masoom was made. “Shekhar was unwell and Shabana and I had gone to see him. As he narrated some scenes to Shabana, I was impressed. I told him that he will do a film with me. I gave him a signing amount of Rs.10,000 out of Rs.75,000 that was fixed as his remuneration. Mr. India was nowhere in the picture then.”
Kapoor is not just good at cooking stories; his daughters look forward to the breakfast prepared by him. “My scrambled eggs are one of the best. I usually cook when we are travelling because abroad you get a lot of half-cooked stuff.” Kapoor says he hasn’t introduced Sridevi to North Indian food but with him she has started taking risks. “She is into health diet but she prepares rasam really well and her steamed fish with chutney is an all time hit at home.”
Known for shooting in exotic locations, Kapoor introduced us to North America like Yash Chopra made us familiar with Switzerland. “In those days there were capsules which were released to create buzz. I wanted my films to stand out. I never held myself back. Even after the debacle of Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja , Prem was shot in 32 locations and we went to Mexico and Alaska, where even Hollywood films rarely go, for Pukar . Now the charm of shooting abroad is no longer a charm. So I have turned to Agra-Mathura for Tevar .”
People tend to forget that he was also force behind films like Woh Saat Din and Company . Perhaps, the media get blinded by my big films. Some day I might get credit,” Kapoor requests the chef to pack up. “Otherwise I will keep eating!” But then there is malai khubani and almond praline ice cream waiting to be savoured and we are back to business.
