Having started his career with chocolate boy roles, actor Shahid Kapoor now prefers to take on the ones that give him an opportunity to explore the arc of his talent, says Saimi Sattar
It is with some trepidation that I wait for actor Shahid Kapoor. Isn’t he the one who embodied the teetering on-the-edge, insane Haider, a stuttering sibling and another who lisped in Kaminey or the drug addict rockstar in Udta Punjab, a portrait of human aberration or realism, depending on which way you look at it? But over the course of 15 minutes, Shahid articulates his points to perfection, elaborates on anything that we want to discuss further, even engaging in self-deprecating humour. He can afford to, for the actor has stretched out his arc wide while playing characters that are grey, edgy and sear the mind. Next up, he plays Kabir Singh in an eponymous film, the trailer of which has been grabbing eyeballs for his portrayal of a character who seems to be whirling out of control.
When we meet the actor, who started out as a background dancer in Dil to Paagal Hai (1997) and Taal (1999), he elaborates on what makes this shade of grey different. “I’ve done my fair share of characters who are complex, multi-layered and unpredictable. The original character, Arjun Reddy, in the Telugu film had a combination of aggression with vulnerability, a sense of angst with pathos. These are conflicting emotions and feelings which attracted me as they made the character very different,” he says. In the film, he plays an alcoholic surgeon and an aggressive lover. “There were so many shades that I hadn’t done before which made it appealing,” he adds, measuring each of his words.
However, as cine goers are well aware, it is not the first time that a film delves into the psyche of a character, who finds an escape in alcohol to make up for the loss of a beloved. The different versions of Devdas, including regional, silent and a modern take (Dev D) come to mind, as well as a contemporary film which was powered by music that became a rage. Even as everyone, including Shahid, his manager and I start laughing as it is impossible to put the last one in the same league, the actor says, “The first time I saw Arjun Reddy I was reminded of Devdas. I can’t deny it. But the way this character behaves is very new age, surprising and unpredictable. He is in your face but all his reactivity is coming from a place of vulnerability.”
However, this is not the only classic that he has taken on. There was of course Haider, a take on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “It is a privilege for an actor to do a classic which is entrenched in our tradition. These are amazing opportunities but I don’t want to feel pressured by drawing such parallels. Classics are classics,” he says and gives out a nervous laugh.
But is the idea of a protagonist who is so consumed by love that he embarks on a self-destructive path relevant or rather in sync with the times where young people are swiping left and right for what they believe is love? While Shahid does agree, he points out that love is not an emotion that can be trivialised. “Of course things are faster and easier today. Often, we might say it is love but it isn’t. I felt that this film takes you through the entire arc and shows all shades of the emotion. It addresses self-destruction through the path of love but falling apart or not being in control or being in a state of mind which is erratic and reactive is something that all of us are going through for various reasons. Love could be just one of them. With Kabir, you will be able to connect with that journey and view it minus any candy floss,” says the actor, who before getting married to Mira Rajput, was in a relationship with actor Kareena Kapoor.
He is in a mood to scrutinise the industry as he sips on his “protein, vegan shake.” Dressed in an all-black ensemble, he says, “Sometimes films are too candy flossy but people are not connecting with those any more. They want to see the purity or the angst of love in all of its rawness and reality. Kabir Singh depicts that in a very unapologetic manner. The emotional state of Kabir Singh is a phase in all our lives. But what makes him different is that he wears his emotions on his sleeves. Most people don’t express it so strongly and prefer to suppress it in keeping with the norms of the society. I connected strongly with him because everything is exploding with this character,” he says.
However, if one talks of content that is edgy and realistic, one cannot but discuss the web space. Shahid believes that every medium has its advantages and disadvantages. As is obvious, watching movies is a social and public experience which you share with 300, 400 or sometimes 800 people that is different from experiencing it on your phone. “The word hard-hitting or real is sometimes used to create an impact and I’ve never been a fan of that. It should come from a place which is organic and real and is a good balance of white and black, which you can call grey. But sometimes things are pushed more towards black or bright just for the heck of it. There should be a natural representation,” he says. A combination in a film, he believes, is essential as everyday in life, too, we go through both abrasive and beautiful moments. He believes this film has it as “it doesn’t shy away from where it needs to go as a story. Or as a character. Everything is fully developed,” he says.
When we delineate how films are often named after male protagonists or told from their point of view, he says, “People have said that the male character is strong here but I have done a film, Jab We Met, where the female character was such and in Padmavat, I was the subtle one. There was a time when every story was being told from a male point of view. We have come a long way.” He did not see the protagonist as male or female but rather “as a senior, a brilliant student who has anger management issues. He falls in love with a simple pure girl and they connect because opposites attract. I have seen that the oddest of relationships work out while some of which are perfect on paper just don’t,” he says.
Placing the emotion within the framework of life, Shahid points out that we need to understand the depth of love. “I think people say that they are in love too easily. It is a deep emotion and you need to spend some time to understand how legit it is,” he says as we find ourselves nodding sagely in agreement. Shahid pauses and lets it sink in before adding, “Love is a very selfless emotion. Kabir is self destructive because he is so in love with her that he doesn’t mind destroying himself. And that is high level of love even though it is abrasive and destructive but mostly to himself.”
Shahid, who initially cut his teeth in the industry playing a lover boy in films like Ishk Vishk (2003), Chup Chup Ke (2006), Vivaah (2006) and Jab We Met (2007), changed his trajectory with Kaminey (2009). The current story is unique for another reason. It is the first time that a remake is being made by the same director who helmed the original. And for a reason. “When I was considering doing it, I said that Sandeep Vanga is the only person who can make it provided he is comfortable with Hindi and wants to do it,” he says.
Given that the story as well as the director were common, how did Shahid impart his own special stamp on the character? “A careful balance had to be found. Just because you want to be different, you cannot reject things that are beautiful and intrinsic. At the same time, just because you don’t want to lose that, you cannot copy paste. Kabir Singh is an individual in his own right who has to come alive in this film just the way Arjun Reddy did in the original. I know how the original made me feel. I don’t want the audience to lose out on that emotional journey but Kabir will do it in his own way,” says the actor and the words come tumbling out quickly making it clear that he has thought over the role carefully.
There was a reason for him to take up the project. “I have never done a remake before. Most of the time when remakes come to you, they tell you the box office numbers and the money that the film has made. Though money is an important part of the film-making business, somewhere you need to feel moved or affected to give one year of your life to a film. And I fell in love with this one as it overcame that hurdle of language and culture. I felt privileged to take it to a wider audience,” he says.
Getting into the character is a process that different actors approach in a variety of ways. For some it is more spontaneous, while others have rehearsals stretching over months. “Film making to some extent can be a....,” he pauses for a long time searching for the right word and goes on to define it by saying, “Cerebral process and an emotional one as well. You have to find the emotionality of the characters that we represent for people to feel that. You must research, as it is good to do your homework and have some understanding of the background and the mindset. I always look for the whys to understand why he is doing what he is doing. It helps me to get into his head and then everything makes an impact.”
The process has worked for sure as even though his career graph might have seen highs and lows commercially, his characters have more often than not come in for praise from the audience and the critics. “I am lucky that some very interesting and exciting opportunities have come my way. I have been lucky that films turned out well and those characters made an impact. And because of that I’ve got more opportunities,” he laughs humbly.
His journey, Shahid believes, has been that of self discovery. “When I started in 2003, I just wanted to be a Hindi film hero and slowly I discovered that there is a desire and the need to perform, act and delve into different characters. The chocolate boy stopped exciting me when I started playing characters that had meat. The satisfaction when I enjoy a scene is incomparable,” he says talking about his evolution.
Shahid does not mind extending his repertoire to OTT platforms as well. “In any case, I do very few films. I am very instinctive if something excites me, I will do it,” he says.
Despite having come so far, there is still an everyday ordinariness which makes most people connect with the actor and one can understand why when he talks about juggling parenthood with doing justice to his profession, a struggle most of us face. “I am a father who is very particular about giving as much time as possible to my two young children. You always feel you are falling short time-wise, either on the home front or at work place. I am on duty 18 hours a day,” he says as he signs off, still at work.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
