8 Sep – Did you know that we nearly didn't get Anil Kapoor as the Chief Minister for a day, Shvaji Gao if the actor did not campaign for it? That's what the "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" actor said, as the political thriller "Nayak" celebrated its 20th anniversary on 7 September. "I pursued [director S. Shankar] after "Nayak" was passed up by both Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh. To this date, I'm glad I did," he said. "Honestly, all we knew while making the film was that it would be something special. Something for the ages. We had no clue it would gain the kind of traction that it did."
"I think it's the subject matter that is just so relevant and relatable. The people, the government and the tensions therein will always remain a topic of great interest and personal relevance," said Anil. The movie, which was a remake of Shankar's 1999 Tamil film, "Mudhalvan", stars Anil as a television cameraman who accepted a challenge by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Balraj Chauhan to be a Chief Minister for a day - proving to the politician that he is able to do the work if no corruption and bureaucracy is involved. The movie co-stars Rani Mukerji, Pooja Batra, Amrish Puri and Paresh Rawal.