After nearly 25 years in Bollywood, when Anil Kapoor accompanied a politician-friend ahead of the general election, many thought he was ready to change the course of his career. But no!

Anil told IANS in an interview that he was definitely not joining politics but would rally around people, including politicians, who were good human beings.

And, no, insists the man who is known for family entertainment, he is not doing a sex comedy either. Excerpts from the interview:

You recently went to Bihar to campaign for Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Is this the political awakening of Anil Kapoor?
If you mean am I joining politics, the answer is an emphatic no. See, Rudy is a friend and a decent politician and I have known him from before he was a minister. Rudy called me to Chapra, not to campaign for him, but to be there when he filed his nomination papers. I just went to wish him luck. At the rally, I emphasised that I had come as Rudy's personal friend and not as a supporter of any political party.

I had been to a political campaign once to similarly support Dutt saab (Sunil Dutt) not because he's part of my fraternity - I am all the time asked by my colleagues to rally around them but I refuse - but because I believe in him as a human being. If people like these call me I'll definitely go again. And I don't think it reflects badly on me. I'm a man with a reputation that has lasted 25 years.

What do you feel about your colleagues being lambasted for jumping into politics?
It's a free world. Anyone can do anything he wants.

As an actor you seem to have re-invented yourself this year?
You mean re-re-reinvented myself? I've made a career out of surprising myself and the audience. Yes, this year I'm doing quite a few multi-starrers. But that's nothing unusual. Didn't I do Subhash Ghai's "Karma" long back? Why not work in as many set-ups and permutations possible? It gives me a chance to work with my colleagues. I loved being pitted against major stars in "Karma", "Ram Lakhan" and "Parinda". And all these were hits.

In any case, if a majority of my forthcoming releases are multi-starrers then the ones after those are all solo-starrers.

Do you have a great deal of variety to look forward to?
All my four forthcoming films are so different from each other. What I've done with Ram Gopal Varma is certainly not the same thing that I'm doing with Dharmesh Darshan or Sanjay Gupta. I'm going through a very exciting phase. It's unfortunate I couldn't accommodate the new films offered to me by Yash Chopra, Priyadarshan, Mahesh Manjrekar... Pritish Nandy Communications offered me a really promising film "Shabd", which I couldn't do.

You're doing your first sex comedy?
You mean my brother's production "No Entry"? Are you kidding me! We're known to make family films. Why on earth would I suddenly turn raunchy? "No Entry" is a family comedy. Salman Khan's presence really adds to it. We've given a big hit "Biwi No.1" together. Hopefully "No Entry" will follow suit. I play a magazine editor. The director, Anees Bazmi, and I have worked together when he was a screenwriter.

Isn't Sanjay Gupta's "Musafir" a sexy film?
There you go again! Not at all! I'm happy doing any kind of cinema as long as it isn't offensive to my sensibility. At least none of the scenes I have done is obscene. Like Gupta, Dharmesh Darshan is a new director for me in "Bewafaa".

Ram Gopal Varma is putting out two versions of your film - "Galti Se" and "Jaan Boojh Ke".
I feel the kind of talent Ramu is pumping into the film industry and the quality of work he's doing is simply amazing. You can compare his assistants and directors to any of the top filmmakers. Ramu doesn't interfere with any of their work. That's the key to his success. The two-version film that we've made is in character. Both of us believe in pushing the envelope. People expect something different and exciting from us.

Everyone seems very curious about "Galti Se" and "Jaan Boojh Ke". But the ideas for the two films based on domestic turbulence are easily identifiable. In one version I kill her (the wife) intentionally. In the other she dies accidentally. I'd become a very mediocre actor if I didn't have challenges before me.

What plans do you have for your children?
They're making their plans. I'm just there to guide them. My son just wants to make money. Very unlike his father (laughs)... Money and I just don't go together. My younger daughter is getting into business. My elder daughter Sonam is learning direction with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I think there's tremendous longevity in filmmaking. Me? Everyone says I'm a closet director. But I'm not ready to direct a film.

Do you plan to produce your own films, independent of your brother Boney Kapoor?
To be honest with you, yes. I'll produce the films I totally believe in. Boney will be there to guide me. But all creative and monetary decisions will be taken by me. I have great plans for the future. They go much beyond cinema.

Don't you think I've come a long way since my bit role in "Hamare Tumhare" 25 years ago? As an actor I've changed. But as a human being I'm still the child I was. I'm constantly trying to make everyone happy. I like to share all my experiences with everyone. I'm not secretive.