Anil Kapoor made his Hindi film debut in Umesh Mehra's Hamare Tumhare (1979) in a small role.
He was starred as a lead actor in the 1980 Telugu film, Vamsa Vruksham directed by Bapu. He then made his Kannada film debut with Mani Ratnam's Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983). He received his first Filmfare Award, in the Best Supporting Actor category, for his role in Yash Chopra's Mashaal (1984). Kapoor earned his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in N. Chandra's Tezaab (1988) and later again for his performance in Indra Kumar's Beta (1992).