Zahan Kapoor Is Only Getting Started

Zahan Kapoor is to the manner born.

The Kapoor genes are hard to miss. The first thing you notice when you meet him is his resemblance to his legendary grandfather, the late Shashi Kapoor. He is much more than his surname, though, something he’s been sincerely trying to establish, ever since his debut in Hansal Mehta’s Faraaz (2022). With his recent outing in Vikramaditya Motwane’s Black Warrant, he’s found the perfect opportunity to earn his cred. Much like his character in the show, he’s slowly but steadily affirmed his place under the sun.

But don’t call it overnight stardom. A decade of dedication and hard work has led him here. And Kapoor is determined to make the most of it.

Esquire India: Have you had a chance to go through the praise coming your way for Black Warrant?

Zahan Kapoor: The show has ruined me! Look at this beautiful collaboration of incredible people, who have all empowered each other through the journey. The love, acceptance and recognition of it all is unmatchable. How do I ever top this? But the fact that everyone has taken notice of my work certainly makes me happy.

ESQ: What was it like working with Vikramaditya Motwane?

ZK: I have always been a fan of his work. What he did with Jubilee was awesome. I am very proud that I met him after giving two rounds of auditions. He saw me as an actor and a potential character for this project before he met me as an upcoming, wanting-for-work actor. That meant a lot to me because it's my value system. I have been taught to earn it in that way. I am happy it is not being seen as the launch of a new Kapoor—it's more like here is Black Warrant, and these are its actors.

ESQ: Your character Sunil Gupta goes from a rookie to becoming the man in charge. Throughout the show, he is conflicted with his ideologies. What was your process?

ZK: To imagine empathetically what it must be like for someone in a circumstance and how they choose to act and behave and then try and make choices from that point of view. For this role, there was a reference point of the real Sunil Gupta, but we had to find the version of him at 24, not the one today, who has the gift of distance from the events which occurred then. The idea was to tap into the essence of the man rather than be a direct comparison of the cut-out.

ESQ: The portrayal of masculinity in movies and shows today is mostly that of the larger-than-life alpha male. Do you think you would be able to retain this unconventionality going forward, given the template of the times?

ZK: I am not overly concerned with maintaining it. I like the idea that it's being perceived as unique. I read the Esquire review, which mentioned the not-angry young man, right? The angry young man came as an antidote to the softer, gentler man of the '50s and '60s. In the mid '70s, the angry young man was a reflection of the societal construct. The roles that I have done and other actors such as Vikrant Massey in 12th Fail, Adarsh Gourav in The White Tiger, and Babil in The Railway Men are all sensitive characters who are stuck in situations, wrestling with things which appear bigger than them. On the other hand, there are examples of course of the bombastic, larger-than-life, kind strong men characters. I think there's a place for all of it. I would not like to get pigeonholed and would also like to push and explore the angry young man, the modern version of it, and channel that since we all have an infinity of characters and facets within us.

ESQ: What was it like growing up in the legendary Kapoor family? And how did it influence you?

ZK: I don't think the influence was a conscious one, and it was never presented as something that I had to do. It was not a comparison that I had to build toward, I didn’t have to reach it as a goal, it just existed. By nature, it is in me and has been absorbed. There are so many layers, so many facets of that. The conversations, understanding of a story, character, the arts and culture in general, the ethos, as well as the work ethic. The point of being grounded, in terms of knowing how the wheel spins, success, failure, barrenness and flourish. These are the things which get imbibed, and I am grateful that I've been allowed to discover a lot of things on my own and never felt the pressure and the burden or to live up to expectations. I have been encouraged to explore and to be curious and then organically discover things.

ESQ: Your grandfather Shashi Kapoor was also India’s first crossover star. Which of his films do you like the most?

ZK: From his commercial films, I think Deewar is incredible. From the films he did internationally, Muhafiz (In Custody) is fabulous, and that was the only film Ismail Merchant directed. Shakespeare Wallah is a story that I love, since it’s also semi-autobiographical. I also liked the fun he had on screen as well as the melodramas he was part of. There is Kabhi Kabhie, Kaala Patthar and Satyam Shivam Sundaram. He did the entire gamut!