‘Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan should do age-appropriate roles’: Mohan Kapur says it’s unfair to write stars off after flops

Mohan Kapur got candid about Bollywood superstars, changing audience expectations and why even stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar cannot survive without strong scripts.From comparing repetitive films to “biryani every day” to saying no actor is bigger than a good script, Mohan shared his honest take on the industry.During his conversation with Siddharth Kannan, Mohan Kapur was asked whether Salman Khan had become trapped in his own larger-than-life superstar image, especially since some of his recent films have not worked at the box office.Responding to this, Mohan said, “I’m not an expert, but the way you framed the question, I think you are right.”He explained that stars like Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir Khan are so massive that audiences eventually start craving something different from them.“If you feed someone biryani every day, one day they’ll say they don’t want biryani anymore, just give me soup,” he said.While speaking about Salman’s current phase, Mohan Kapur added that every superstar goes through ups and downs.He pointed out that even Shah Rukh Khan had a difficult phase before films like Pathaan and Jawan brought audiences back in huge numbers.“Maybe Salman is going through that lean phase right now in terms of stories and choices, but you can’t write him off,” he said.Mohan Kapur was further asked whether superstars should now move towards more age-appropriate characters instead of holding onto the same image.Agreeing with the point, Mohan said, “Exactly what you said.”However, he also added that outsiders can only speculate about what stars feel internally.He explained that actors may also fear that stepping away from their established image could impact the industry financially because films led by stars like Shah Rukh and Salman still generate massive business and employment.Mohan Kapur strongly stated that scripts matter more than stardom.“There is no actor, no star that is greater than a good script,” he said.He further added, “A good script can make Mohan Kapur an actor. A bad script, even Shah Rukh Khan cannot salvage.”The actor stressed that while the industry often talks about good writing, very few actually follow through consistently.When asked whether audiences now want actors like Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan to completely disappear into roles, Mohan said the problem is repetition.“We know they are good actors. But show us something different too,” he said.He praised Akshay Kumar for films like Patiala House and Good Newwz, saying audiences appreciate actors when they attempt something fresh.Mohan also defended Shah Rukh Khan for trying unconventional films like Fan and Zero.“People didn’t accept those films, but at least he tried different characters and scripts,” he said.Towards the end of the conversation, Mohan Kapur said audiences themselves sometimes make stars insecure by rejecting experiments and then demanding something new again.“If actors try something different and audiences reject it, obviously they become insecure,” he explained.He concluded by saying it is unfair to immediately declare a superstar “finished” just because a few films did not work.“Give them a chance to try new things,” he said.