Anil Kapoor says real secret of success is the stubble, not trademark moustache

Actor Anil Kapoor recently opened up about the struggles he faced in the early days of his career. He recalled how his moustache and youthful appearance often made filmmakers doubt whether he could become a leading star.

Actor Anil Kapoor recently reflected on the challenges he faced early in his career, revealing how his signature moustache and stubble often became a hurdle when he approached filmmakers for roles. During his session titled The Ageless Rebel: Rewriting the Rules of Stardom on Day 1 of India Today Conclave Delhi 2026, Anil shared how he kept his signature stubble to look older.

While talking about the same, he said, “Whenever I went to filmmakers for work, they would say things like, ‘Chhota hai, baal zyada hai,’ and that I looked too young. At that time, the industry was ruled by great actors like Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Vinod Khanna, all known for their stubble. I also kept stubble because I wanted to look a little older. If you see films like Woh Saat Din, I played an innocent boy who comes from a small place to become a music director, and people felt I was too young for the role. They thought someone like Sanjeev Kumar would be more suitable.”

“Even later, in Mr India, you can see the stubble, whether it was a romantic scene or an emotional one. I constantly had this struggle to look a little older. In fact, the look became so synonymous with me that other actors would keep stubble and people would say, ‘Oh, Anil Kapoor.’ But the real issue was the moustache. Nobody wanted to accept me with a moustache because they believed no one with a big moustache could become a big star. And I would say, ‘Who can be bigger than Charlie Chaplin?’ Even legends like Raj Kapoor had moustaches,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anil was last seen in Prime Video’s Subedaar. The film is directed by Suresh Triveni and co-stars Radhika Madan and Khushbu Sundar.