Actor Kunal Kapoor fields questions from students at KIIT in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. Picture by Ashwinee Pati COOL TIPS: “You must not be afraid of failure. You might end up making a complete fool of yourself, but you must keep trying. Never compromise with your dreams. Talent just serves about 20 per cent. Your attitude towards what you do is more important.”

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 22: Chase your dreams and don’t be afraid of failure.

That’s the advice B-town’s tall, fair and handsome actor Kunal Kapoor had for youngsters he met today for an interactive session at KIIT University.

He was here to sample a slice of Odia culture for his next film — tentatively titled Uncha Gaon, Neecha Gaon — to be directed by Nila Madhab Panda.

Students from various colleges, who thronged the venue to attend an international youth camp, shot questions at Kunal and he was only too happy to oblige.

Quite a few questions were centred on corruption in India, an issue highlighted in the film Rang De Basanti, in which Kunal had played a Muslim youth.

“It is a deep-rooted problem. Pointing fingers is no solution. All of us use unfair means to get our work done faster. If corruption angers you, stop indulging in it,” said the actor, with his trademark smile.

Talking about his childhood, he said he used to spend more time in the college canteen than in classrooms. And believe it or not, the magnetic actor admitted being “shy of girls” in his younger days.

He urged youngsters to follow their passion. “One day, I would want to invest in the stock market, the other day I would want to become a cashew exporter. My parents asked me to follow my true calling, which was acting. You must not be afraid of failure. You might end up making a complete fool of yourself, but you must keep trying. Never compromise with your dreams. Talent just serves about 20 per cent. Your attitude towards what you do is more important.”

Kunal is among a handful of the current generation Bollywood actors to have worked with some illustrious names of the Hindi film industry.

“I have worked as assistant director in a Amitabh Bachchan film, done theatre with Naseeruddin Shah and have worked with Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. One thing common in them all is that despite being veterans, they all have a childlike quality on the sets and try hard to surpass their own benchmarks.”

Many in the packed auditorium also asked the actor to shake a leg, croon a song or just speak a dialogue from one of his films. Some sought a chance to act with him while others wanted to know about “his kind of girls” and even his fitness regime. He gave tongue-in-cheek answers to some questions while tactfully avoiding the requests.

Before addressing the youths, he called on BJP state unit president K.V. Singhdeo, the scion of Balangir royal family, for tips on Uncha Gaon, Neecha Gaon. The actor will play a prince in the upcoming film.

He left for the Puri Jagannath temple in the evening.