by Subhash K Jha

Fresh from the astounding success of Anees Bazmi's Welcome Anil Kapoor has taken a straight cultural leap into Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.

After shooting portions of it in Agra, the auteur director Danny Boyle is currently shooting the rest of the film in Mumbai.

Anil Kapoor is characteristically charged, "Normally when I start any film I get as nervous as a schoolboy on his first day of school.

But Slumdog Millionaire is special on many counts. It's my first international film after 35 years in the industry. Though I've worked with Shekhar Kapoor it was before he became an international filmmaker.

So Danny Boyle is my first international director."

Is it true Anil plays a game-show host, a la Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan in Kaun Banega Crorepati?

"No it's nothing like them. Danny has devised my character as completely different from Amitji and Shah Rukh in KBC. They brought their own sensibility personality and stardom into the part.

I think Danny wanted me because I was a completely different actor from Amitji and Shah Rukh. I'm playing the game-show host in my own way.

I speak the English language without any accent. The danger of an Indian actor doing an international project is the accent tilts either to being exaggerated or too sophisticated.

I'm speaking my lines as I would have if I was actually hosting a game- show in real life."

London actor Dev Patel (who starred in the hit teen series Skins) plays the young lead of the game-show contestant who appears on Anil Kapoor's show and proceeds to win. Interestingly Anil wasn't too familiar with Danny Boyle's work when he was offered the role.

"It was my son Harsh who convinced me. He's a big Danny Boyle fan. When you enter his room there's a poster of Danny right at the door.

When Harsh heard I was offered a role in a Danny Boyle film he told me I had to do it. Fortunately for me the role is substantial and interesting. Even if it wasn't I'd have done it for my son's sake."

Currently Anil is busy reading up the novel by Vikas Swarup in-between the shots. "All I can tell you is that the film is very different from the novel." Promises Anil.