An Actor Prepares
Zahan Kapoor is a theatre enthusiast. One can clearly understand that from his performance as Tihar Jail Superintendent Sunil Gupta in Netflix’s Black Warrant. It has earned the 32-year-old actor some well-deserved acting stripes. Calling it an empowering experience, Zahan says, “Black Warrant has ruined me; collaborating with these incredible people, as well as the love and acceptance coming our way, will be difficult to match up.”
The Vikramaditya Motwane-led directorial is Zahan’s second screenouting, post his debut in Hansal Mehta’s hostage drama Faraz in 2022. Zahan confesses it is a personal validation to be acknowledged as an actor rather than being the new Kapoor on the block.
“I met Vikram Sir post two rounds of auditions; he saw me as an actor and a potential character for his next project before he ever met me as an upcoming, wanting-for-work actor. This means a lot to me because that’s my core value system. The acceptance has been earned through a lot of dedication and effort in the past decade.”
The prison drama is based on the non-fiction book, Black Warrant: Confessions of a Tihar Jailer, co-authored by former Tihar Jail superintendent Sunil Gupta and journalist Sunetra Choudhury. During his three-decade-long tenure, Gupta oversaw the execution of high-profile criminal murderers Ranga Billa as well as Kashmiri separatist Maqbool Bhatt. He also encountered dreaded criminals like Charles Sobhraj. The show documents Gupta’s journey from the determined rookie to the fastidious jailer Saheb.
Imagination was key as Kapoor stepped into the shoes of then 24-year-old Sunil Gupta. “As an actor, one has several tools, the physical, psychological as well as the contextual aspect; it is something akin to the many legs of a spider; you start on one, but you end up accessing them all.
Though he is 65 -years-old now and has the gift of distance, we had to find and tap into the version of the character who first stepped into Tihar. It is not a direct comparison of the cutout or mimicry but to find the essence of the person.”
One cannot help recall Kapoor’s resemblance and traits being similar to those of his grandfather, the charismatic Shashi Kapoor. “I am grateful that I can carry that feeling forward for people, and it reminds me of the impact and significance that my grandfather had, managing to do the whole gamut, be it commercial, crossover, or parallel. It is very positive that people are being reminded of a feeling and emotion they felt before.”
Prithvi Theatre, which is the testament to his grandparents Shashi and Jennifer Kapoor’s enduring legacy, had been Zahan’s training ground. From assisting directors and being part of workshops, Zahan made his theatre debut in 2019 with Makrand Deshpande’s Pitaji Please.
Zahan also reveals that he was never weighed under the burden of his lineage “I don’t think it was ever presented as something I had to do; it was not a comparison I had to build towards, something I had to reach as a goal, but it is something that just existed. So, by nature, it is in me and it has been absorbed.
There are so many layers and facets of that, the conversations around, the understanding of story, character, arts and culture in general, the ethos, ethics. One sees success, failure, barrenness, and a flourish; I am glad one has been able to absorb all of that.”
Though the question on everyone’s mind is what next, the actor reveals he had shot a few things before Black Warrant and is awaiting their release. Zahan says he has taken a leaf from the Kapoor family rule book of immersing himself in every aspect of the craft and not getting pigeonholed.
“It is very positive that people are being reminded of a feeling and emotion they’ve felt before.”
ZAHAN KAPOOR, Actor