It's not surprising that Bollywood actors come to Sri Lanka to shoot films or private holiday visits. How about Anil Kapoor’s private visit to Sri Lanka? It is a surprise because such a big celebrity does not select a country as his holiday destination unless it has some special attraction to him. Anyway, the Bollywood super star Anil Kapoor is in Sri Lanka. According to the actor’s social media profiles, he is at the Geoffrey Bawa Country Estate in Bentota with members of his family.
Anil Kapoor's visit
The 65-year-old actor also shared images on social media (his Instagram and Twitter accounts) of him sprinting, working out, flaunting his fitness and playing snooker. The photos he posted were taken at the Bentota beach as well as renowned architect Geoffrey Bawa's country estate from the backdrop of the Lunu Ganga premises. His Twitter account has 6.8 million subscribers, and Instagram account has 4.3 million subscribers. Therefore, the images he shared went viral in social media.
Anil Kapoor himself captioned his Twitter post as "Exploring Bentota" adding the hashtag #ADayInSriLanka, and another photo captioned as "Lockdown is compulsory. What you do with it is optional. #hardworkpaysoff #persist".
However, some Indian media described Anil's album satirically. For instance, NDTV news web gave a title for an article (along with his exercise actions-filled photos) written on his Sri Lanka visit as 'Anil Kapoor, 65, Works Out Even When On Vacation'. Another news web titled for an article on him 'At 65, Anil Kapoor, flexes his muscles, sprints on beach in Sri Lanka; netizens call him inspirational'.
In the NDTV news feature published on February 09, Pranita Chaubey wrote: "Seems like Anil Kapoor takes his fitness regime very seriously even when he is on a holiday. The actor, 65, shared pictures from his holiday album. The location? Sri Lanka. In some of the pictures, the actor can be seen strolling on the beach. In another shot, he can be seen playing snooker. Our favourite has to be the one in which he can be seen flexing his muscles as he poses for the camera."
Pranita Chaubey ended her report: "Just in case you forgot how seriously Anil Kapoor takes his fitness. Here's a video of him sprinting". So his physical exercise actions in Sri Lanka have become a subject to have a fun for Indian media. However, it is also noteworthy to mention that Anil Kapoor is one among Bollywood veterans who constantly updates his social media accounts. He recently uploaded a photo of his early school days, and invited netizens to identify him among other schoolmates in the photo.
His last visit
Anil Kapoor's last visit to Sri Lanka was Hiru Golden Film Awards in 2016. Not only Anil Kapoor, but also Sunil Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu, Alka Yagnik, Neha Dhupia, Madhuri Dixit, Sri Devi, Raveena Tandon, Jackie Shroff, Karisma Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh was also graced the event. We remember how Anil was attracted to Sri Lankan actor Mahenda Perera because of his humorous presentation of the events in the show along with Pubudu Chathuranga. At that time, Anil Kapoor said of Mahendra Perera: "You are a great actor, which is apparent from your very nice presentation." Sometimes, Anil Kapoor might have contacted Mahendra Perera after he came to Sri Lanka this time.
Positive sign
Anyway, he and his family's personal visit to Sri Lanka marks a positive sign particularly in terms of the Sri Lankan film industry because such visits might have ended with close relationships between Sri Lankan artistes and Bollywood artistes. Besides, Anil Kapoor is not only an actor, but also a producer and veteran Bollywood celebrity. Therefore, his visit is of much importance, and may enable other Bollywood stars to select Sri Lanka as a holiday destination as well. However, if we want to yield good results from those visits, we should have an integrated program to include those high profile celebrities around the Sri Lankan film industry.
We can also remember how Jackie Shroff expressed his great enthusiasm to act in Sinhala cinema when he participated in the Hiru international film festival in 2016. Not only Shroff, but also Sunil Shetty was another participant who stressed the necessity of this collaboration.
Aditya Roy Kapur
Meanwhile, another Bollywood star arrived in Sri Lanka two weeks before. He was actor Aditya Roy Kapur. He came here to shoot the Hindi adaptation of The Night Manager, a Golden Globe winning British television serial. Aditya Roy Kapur who is likely to play the lead role in the show has already started shooting in the Southern Province, and he is set to shoot some of the crucial sequences of The Night Manager remake in the beautiful landscape of Sri Lanka. He will supposedly step into Hrithik Roshan’s shoes in the remake of the internationally acclaimed British mini-series.
It is also reported that a production team of nearly 180 including actors and actresses had arrived in the country with them, and they are scheduled to stay in the country for nearly a month. It is said that Anil Kapoor is also among the cast, and he came to Sri Lanka for that purpose.
However, according to NewsWire, Bollywood actor Aditya Roy Kapoor is now busy with his movie project. NDTV revealed, "Aditya has a tight schedule and will pull off some exciting scenes and sequences in the beautiful landscape of Sri Lanka". It added that the actor is essaying a nuanced and layered character in the show which demands a continuous prep process. He is also busy in building his physique which is required for the part.
‘The Night Manager’
Speaking about ‘The Night Manager’, it is an espionage thriller that has a tense cat and mouse chase between a covert agent and a secret arms dealer. The producer of the Hindi remake in which Aditya Roy Kapoor acts seeks to shoot it at the best suitable locations and Sri Lanka is an ideal place for it. The original tele series of The Night Manager which was a massive hit across the globe, directed by Susanne Bier, was played by stars such as Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, Tom Hollander, David Harewood and Elizabeth Debicki. It was based on the 1993 novel of the same title by John le Carré, and the show was adapted to the present day by David Farr.
The six-part series began broadcasting on BBC One on 21 February 2016. In the United States, it began on 19 April 2016 on AMC. The show has been sold internationally by IMG to over 180 countries. The second series was considered but not formally commissioned.
In this way, the arrival of two Bollywood stars would be good news for Sri Lankan Bollywood fans as well, though they couldn't meet them personally.