He emerged as a star with Mashaal (1984) and went on to establish himself with his roles in the action films Meri Jung (1985), Karma (1986), Janbaaz (1986), Mr. India (1987), Tezaab (1988), and Ram Lakhan (1989).

Kapoor's other commercially successful films include Beta (1992), Andaz (1994), Laadla (1994), Virasat (1997), Judaai (1997), Deewana Mastana (1997), Gharwali Baharwali (1998), Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999) and No Entry (2005).

[16] Anil Kapoor made his Hindi film debut with Umesh Mehra's Hamare Tumhare (1979), in a small role.

He played his first Hindi film leading role in Woh Saat Din (1983) which was directed by Bapu and featured Padmini Kolhapure and Naseeruddin Shah.

He gained recognition in Bollywood with Yash Chopra's action drama Mashaal (1984) as a tapori, for which he won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

But it was Meri Jung (1985), wherein he played the role of an angry young lawyer fighting for justice that earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.

[27] The following year, he delivered Ram Lakhan (which became the second-highest box office earner of 1989)[28] featuring Madhuri Dixit in the chartbuster song One Two Ka Four.

[33] In 1992, Kapoor received his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his hard-hitting performance in Indra Kumar's Beta – the biggest blockbuster of the year opposite Madhuri Dixit.

[36] Kapoor gave a splendid performance as a simpleton lover in the musical romantic drama 1942: A Love Story opposite Manisha Koirala.

His 1995 release, Trimurti was a box-office disaster, though Kapoor's performance was positively received, earning him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

[37] Kapoor came up with a decent performance in the moderate critical and commercial success Gharwali Baharwali (1998), opposite Raveena Tandon and Rambha.

[41] Kapoor's unusual characterisation of a zealous, crooked musical superstar in Taal (1999) shocked both audience and critics alike, earning him rave reviews, in addition to his second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

[42] He again won rave reviews for his performance in Virasat (1997), a remake of the Tamil film, Thevar Magan (1992), in which he played Kamal Haasan's role.

Anil Kapoor's first release of 2000 was Bulandi, in which he played a double role, showing restraint and maturity as the elder Thakur.

[46] Kapoor shared the screen with Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan for the first time in Armaan, and played the character of a neurosurgeon.

"[47][48] According to Bollywood Hungama, he "ignited the silver screen with an authoritative performance" in Musafir alongside Sameera Reddy, Aditya Pancholi, Sanjay Dutt and Koena Mitra.

[55] Anees Bazmee's Welcome, which released on 21 December 2007 was declared the biggest success of the year, earning him his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Vijay Krishna Acharya's Tashan marked Anil's comeback to Yash Raj Films, but failed to do well at the box-office.

In 2010, Kapoor starred in the eighth season of the American television series 24, portraying Omar Hassan, President of the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan.

In October of that year he was cast to play a villain in both Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (released in December 2011) and Power.

"[59] His performance in Shootout at Wadala was highly acclaimed by critics; Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu wrote that "Anil Kapoor is first-rate, revelling in a tailor-made role as a no-nonsense cop, reminding us of the superstar he used to be in the Eighties.

In 2015, he starred alongside an ensemble cast of Shefali Shah, Priyanka Chopra, Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma and Farhan Akhtar in Zoya Akhtar's family comedy-drama Dil Dhadakne Do, which proved to be a commercial success and received positive reviews, earning Kapoor his third Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Amazon cast Kapoor in its pilot The Book of Strange New Things,[63] to play the role of Vikram Danesh, the authoritative head of the base on Oasis.

[65] Featuring an ensemble cast that included reprising actor Nana Patekar and new additions John Abraham and Shruti Hassan among others.

[75] In Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and The Zoya Factor, he worked alongside his daughter Sonam Kapoor, with the former's screenplay being selected by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for its library's core collection, due to its concept of female homosexuality.

[81] Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the film was released on Netflix to positive reviews, with Kapoor's performance receiving particular praise as one of the best of his career.

Tushar Joshi of India Today called him the film's standout performer,[87] while Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama deemed him "flawless," noting his skilful balancing of dramatic highs and lows.

[89] Kapoor co-produced and made a cameo in female sex comedy Thank You for Coming (2023), which premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in the Gala Presentations section,[90] but turned out to be a financial failure.

[96] The film fictionalises the 2019 military events between India and Pakistan, including the Pulwama attack, the Balakot airstrike, and the subsequent border skirmishes.

The song was comic in nature and depicted the love story of the titular Chameli and her lover Charandas, played by Kapoor.