Anil Kapoor reveals why he refused to eat a biscuit offered by Tisca Chopra

On Day three of the International Film Festival of India (

IFFI

), Anil Kapoor walked on to the stage for a session titled Director’s Actor. The actor, looking jhakaas in a white polo tee, was welcomed to the chants of ‘Dhina dhin dha’. He was also accompanied by director Anees Bazmee for the session, which was moderated by Tisca Chopra.

In the middle of the session, Tisca Chopra treated the audience to an anecdote from the time she was shooting the TV series, 24, with Anil Kapoor. She recounted, “We were shooting a hospital sequence at 2 am. All of us were tired and dozing off, but Anil sir was pacing up and down the corridor like a charged-up panther, trying to get everybody energised. A spot boy got me some biscuits and I offered one to him. He took it, stared at it for a long time, and then bellowed, ‘I don’t need it! I won’t have it!’ I was astonished by how disciplined he still is, and the strict check he keeps on his calorie intake.”

At this point, Anil revealed the real reason behind his refusal. “It wasn’t about the calories. Khaana bohot zaroori hai sahi waqt par. I just feel that as an actor, I am conditioned to eat during breaks. If you eat during scenes, you disturb the process of building the emotion required for the scene. Food makes your lethargic. Aur aagar ek biscuit kha leta, to ek pe thodi rukta? I would have finished the entire packet. The panther must not taste blood in the middle of a scene,” he laughed.