Popular comedy actor revealed what happened when he tried to play hero in a film: ‘It was that big a hit….’

While today Shakti Kapoor has made a name for himself as a popular comedy actor and veteran artiste in Bollywood, there was a time when the actor tried to make it as a leading man and failed miserably. In an interview, the ‘Dance Dance’ actor said that he was once inspired by the career graph of Vinod Khanna who started his career with negative roles but successfully transitioned to being a hero.

In an interview with The Powerful Humans, the actor reminisced about his one ill-fated attempt to be the hero - the 1982 action drama ‘Zakhmee Insaan’.

“My favourite villain was Vinod Khanna when he did negative roles. He was so handsome. I have never seen this sort of male beauty ever. I was sure he would become a hero. He was the one who inspired me to play a hero in the film Zakhmee Insaan. I thought I also had the hero’s face and I can also play the male lead,” he revealed.


Making a lighthearted joke about the movie’s ill-fate at the box-office, the ‘Raja Babu’ actor said that just like it’s name, the movie left him, the producer, the audience “zakhmee” (injured).

The movie, which also starred Javed Khan, Rita Bhaduri and Aruna Irani, was such a disaster at the box-office that it was taken off the theatres in 15 minutes, he revealed.

“It went up on screens at 12 and was removed at 12:15. Pandrah minute mei utar gayi (It was taken off screens within 15 minutes). It was that big a hit. I never dared play the part of the hero after that,” he reminisced.

Kapoor also revealed that he once refused to play villains in movies as he did not want to get type casted. But after Zakhmee Insaan’s catastrophic failure he was reduced to begging producers for a chance to play the antagonist.

“Before that, I had told everyone I worked with as a villain that I wouldn’t play such roles anymore because I was now a hero. After the film’s release, I went back to all of them, begging for my villain roles again,” he stated.

Today, Kapoor is a popular actor, known for his comic timing and ability to play the merciless villain. He is known for several iconic roles such as Crime Master Gogo, (Andaz Apna Apna), Nandu (Raja Babu), Batuknath (Chalbaaz) etc. He has appeared in over 700 films.

Kapoor’s daughter Shraddha has been successful as a leading lady. Her most recent film - the 2024 horror comedy ‘Stree 2’ emerged as the highest-grossing female led Hindi film, amassing over Rs 800 crore at the global box-office.