John Abraham & Anil Kapoor Movies Together List — 5 Films

The shape of the work

The 2010s account for 80% of everything they made together. The 2000s belonged to Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love; the 2010s to Shootout at Wadala. John Abraham acted in every film; Anil Kapoor acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• John Abraham was the one who pushed for Anil Kapoor to play the villain in Shootout at Wadala (2013). John told the director that Anil would bring the right menace and star power — and Anil ended up stealing the film as the gangster Manya Surve.
• In Race 2 (2013), Anil Kapoor played the comic relief while John played the stoic action hero. But on set, it was the opposite — Anil would constantly improvise one-liners, and John would break character laughing. The director had to do multiple retakes because John couldn't keep a straight face.
• Despite making five films together, John and Anil never once hung out outside work. John admitted in an interview that they are 'complete opposites' — Anil is a family man who goes home after pack-up, John prefers his own space. Their entire relationship stayed strictly professional.
• Their pairing in Welcome Back (2015) directly led to the creation of the 'John-Anil comedy template' — where John plays the straight-faced, muscle-bound guy and Anil plays the hyperactive, loud uncle. This exact dynamic was copied in Pagalpanti (2019), which became a hit despite a 3.9 IMDb rating.
• Anil Kapoor on working with John: 'He is the most disciplined actor I have worked with. He would finish his shot and then sit quietly in a corner reading a book. I would be running around the set, cracking jokes. We are like fire and ice.'