Anil Kapoor and daughter, Sonam land up in Dubai for the fifth Annual Dubai International Film Festival but miss each other by a few minutes

It was a proud moment for Anil Kapoor when he went to the 5th annual International Film Festival last week for the screening of Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Daughter Sonam was there also for the curtain raiser of her next release, Delhi 6, directed by Rakeysh Mehra.

Cross questioning

Talking about it Anil says, "It was a moment of double pride for me. My film was getting screened and Sonam had also come for Delhi 6. The Dubai press went ballistic and told us it was something that had never happened before father daughter combination of two actors coming for two different films. They kept asking her questions about me at her press conference and asked me questions about her."


Anil, who is in Dubai with his wife Sunita and daughter Rhea, rues the fact that Sonam and he couldn't meet in Dubai. "Though we spoke to each other when she was in transit, unfortunately Sonam and I couldn't meet up in Dubai as she had to leave for a shoot in Maldives. She left just before I landed. I am very proud of Sonam. I have seen the promos of Delhi 6 and they look phenomenal. All my children, Sonam, Harsh and Rhea have seen Slumdog Millionaire and loved it too."

Talking about the audience reaction to Slumdog Millionaire at the Madinat Jumeriah Complex on December 17 in Dubai Anil says, "The capacity of 1200 people was not just sold out once but twice! They had to keep another screening as people from other shows would leave their shows to come watch Slumdog. We (cast and crew of SM) never expected this reaction to our film. It has become like a movement worldwide. We also got a standing ovation in Dubai."

A film's destiny

Talking about Slumdog Millionaire, the buzz is that Shah Rukh Khan was the first choice for Anil's role and apparently he kept director Danny Boyle waiting for four hours before he finally said no. Anil says, "I am not aware of it. Though I did speak to Shah Rukh about it and he told me certain feelers had come from Danny but he refused it for reasons of his own."

Anil says he doesn't mind that he got a SRK reject. "I don't mind being the 10th choice for any role in any film! It doesn't make any difference to me. Today when I am a producer I know I might feel an actor can suit a role but that actor might not feel the same. It's the film's destiny what actor will do which role."