Four decades in, Anil Kapoor remains Hindi cinema's most improbably ageless star. The son of producer Surinder Kapoor, he slogged through bit parts — including his 1979 debut Hamare Tumhare — before Mashaal and Meri Jung made him a star in the mid-1980s. As the mop-haired everyman of Mr. India, the street-smart Munna of Tezaab and the conflicted brother of Parinda, he owned the late '80s, collecting National and Filmfare awards along the way.

Kapoor reinvented himself repeatedly: comedy scene-stealer in No Entry and Welcome, Hollywood crossover via Slumdog Millionaire and the series 24, and magnetic antagonist-patriarch in recent hits like Animal and The Night Manager. Also a successful producer since 2005, he has appeared in more than a hundred films, with his 'jhakaas' catchphrase still part of the pop-culture vocabulary.

Filmography Highlights

• Mashaal (1984) — Early success opposite Dilip Kumar
• Mr. India (1987) — Iconic invisible-hero classic by Shekhar Kapur
• Tezaab (1988) — Blockbuster that cemented his superstardom
• Parinda (1989) — Acclaimed crime drama; landmark of Indian neo-noir
• Virasat (1997) — Award-winning dramatic performance
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) — Oscar-winning film that took him global
• Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) — Scene-stealing patriarch in Zoya Akhtar's ensemble
• Animal (2023) — Powerful father role in the year's biggest hit

Image: Wikimedia Commons. Part of the Top 50 Bollywood Celebrities series. Ranking inspired by popular industry listings; profiles are original editorial content.