I chase my characters, not my actors: Abhishek Kapoor

Abhishek Kapoor successfully launched Farhan Akhtar and Sushant Singh Rajput as film actors. The director, whose next movie "Kedarnath" will mark Sara Ali Khan's debut, says he chases his characters instead of actors.

"Newcomers have an infectious energy and unpredictability and give the audience a surprise. Having said that, it's not that I mind working with established actors provided they are as excited about portraying the characters that I would like to see brought to life. I can only chase my characters, not my actors. Sometimes it is not possible to do both," Kapoor said in a statement to IANS.

Sara is the daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan and Amrita Singh, and her debut is much-awaited with "Kedarnath", a love story set against the holy temple town of Kedarnath.

Kapoor, whose maternal uncle is veteran actor Jeetendra, said: "I have gone through my share of struggles and have understood that it does not matter whether you start as an 'insider' or as an 'outsider'. What matters is who you are and what you bring to the table in terms of your creativity and your work ethic."

He said his journey to make films was his own choice.

Often one to refrain from being spotted with a particular camp, Kapoor said: "When I was growing up, my mother's brother Jeetendra was a major Hindi movie star, and we do know a lot of people from the movie business. But as with everyone, the decision to be in films and my journey in film was my own, and has been a fairly challenging one too.

"Knowing people is not an automatic all-access pass to success. Very early on, I saw a lot of failure, so any sense of entitlement I may have had about my place in the business, was quickly knocked out of me."

Having directed "Rock On!!", "Kai Po Che" and "Fitoor" earlier, Kapoor is now looking forward to "Kedarnath".

On how the film happened, he said: "In my house, spirituality has been a guiding principle. I am a big believer of Shivji and the cosmic forces that oversee us.There are two kinds of people in the spiritual world. Those who are believers and and those who are seekers. A believer has trust in the universe and a seeker is one who isn't, but is trying to gain that trust.

"I have made many trips to Vaishnodevi, and I have seen people trekking up mountains on these pilgrimages, on these arduous trips to find God. What I have observed is that on their journeys to seek God, they usually experience God at some point along the way."

The flash floods that wrought death and destruction in the Hindu pilgrim destination Kedarnath in 2013, left an indelible impact on Kapoor.

"The incident of the floods in 2013 also could not leave my mind, due to the stories that came out of it -- devastating and remarkable in equal measure. I had to go ahead and develop a film set against that backdrop. I believe it is one of the most important stories I can tell for modern India," Kapoor said, without divulging anything more on the movie.

--IANS

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