Anil Kapoor gets into real-life characters' clothes

By Subhash K Jha

We’ve heard of method actors getting into their characters’ skins. Anil Kapoor is jumping into real-life cop Isaaq Bhagwan’s clothes to play the character.

Kapoor met his real-ife character Isaaq Bhagwan on Wednesday to make this unusual request. Anil asked Isaaq Bhagwan for his uniform. According to an eyewitness the cop who is deeply impressed by Anil’s dedication to getting the part right, was taken aback by the unconventional request.

Says the eyewitness, “Isaaq initially laughed off Anil’s request protesting that they were not even the same size and his uniform wouldn’t fit the actor. But Anil insisted.

You know how he is. His enthusiasm soon got to Bhgawan Saab and he gave in to the very unusual request. Now the team is getting Isaaq Bhagwan’s uniforms altered to suit Anil’s physicality. Which is easier said than tailored. ”

Not only the clothes, Anil has been trailing the real-life cop for other details.

In fact we heard Anil has got 5-hour long video footage specially recorded on Isaaq Bhagwan for reference purposes.

Confirming these odes to method acting director Sanjay Gupta informed, “Anil won’t just be wearing Isaaq Bhagwan’s real uniforms, he would also borrow his official cops’ belt which of course he will return after shooting.

Anil’s idea is to get into Isaaq’s skin via his clothes…and hair. Anil is getting the same haircut that Isaaq Bhagwan sported in the 1980s when he was a cop.

Besides the clothes and the hair Anil also asked Isaaq an an embarrassing question. Which was his favourite term of abuse? Isaaq told him about an oft-used Hindi abusive term that he most commonly used. But Isaaq also told Anil he never abused criminals . He used abusive language only around his colleagues.

He also told Anil that his one constant prayer was , ‘Allah kisi beqasoor mere haathon se nahin mar jaye’ (let not any innocent man die by my hands). We’re incorporating all of this. ”

But it is Anil’s insistence on wearing Isaaq Bhagwan’s uniform that is getting doggedly time-consuming. Apparently getting the real cop’s clothes to fit the reel is a bit of a problem.

Says a source close to the project, “We suggested we’d tailor exactly the same fabric and stitch it like the original uniform. But Anil would hear none of it. He’s adamant about wearing Isaaq’s clothes to feel like Isaaq. ”

In an earlier conversation Anil had told me how he had learnt about the importance of getting into character from Shabana Azmi.