I believed in marathon, not 100m dash: Anil Kapoor

Anil Kapoor on Tuesday said he always strived for "longevity" as an actor in films and never wanted to become an instant star.

The actor said he realised early on that he needs to work on his fitness to be able to maintain the stamina to play diverse roles.

"I believed in marathon. I was never for a 100m dash. That be a big star in five-six years and get faded away. I've been in this business for 38 years now. The reason is I was consistent, committed, worked hard and I was never delusional about myself. I worked with good directors. I listened more than I would talk.

"I worked towards my physicality because I need that strength and stamina to portray all the characters. In trying to maintain the energy to be in front of the camera, I started looking after myself," Anil said.

The actor was speaking at a session 'Masterclass with Mr India', moderated by his daughter, producer Rhea Kapoor at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The actor said he would constantly feel that he is "not good enough" and it was this "insecurity" that pushed him to work harder.

"Everybody felt I'm an actor but I don't have the looks. There were Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Mithun (Chakraborty), all great looking guys. They felt he acts well, but doesn't have looks. And now somehow everything is changing.

"There's a shelf-life in sports and in films but you should try your best to increase it as much as you can. That you can do by keeping yourself fit - mentally, physically, spiritually..." he said.

Anil said after a certain age actors must re-evaluate themselves and try to find out roles that suit them.

"I can't play a 20-year-old guy. You have to be sensible enough to do roles and you have to think of roles which will suit me when I'm 40. Life goes on. You have to reinvent and rethink yourself. And there are still so many other roles that I can still do."