EXCLUSIVE! Shahid Kapoor’s Interview: ‘I almost refused Kabir Singh, my wife…’ | Not Just Bollywood

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Firstpost’s Lachmi Deb Roy, Shahid Kapoor talks about his role in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya where he falls in love with a robot, when he almost refused Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh because he was a new director and also on cinema changing.

 Edited excerpts from the interview:

 What was it like doing a romantic film especially after a very intelligently made Farzi and then Bloody Daddy?

 Actually I have become very instinctive as an actor, so my prep happens during my interaction with the directors and in this case for Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya with the directors. During the script development process, this film came to me. I don’t like to prepare too much. I just have a different way of doing it and the character stays in my system and I find my way of evolving it. It doesn’t happen in a structured manner.

I was a part of Farzi while it was being developed and I was a part of Bloody Daddy when it was being developed. I was a part of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya too while it was being developed. And then conversations happen and discussions continue, you think about it and you go back home thinking about the role and the script and that’s how the preparation starts. It is important to get into the role to make it look fresh for yourself as an actor.

The first question that came to my mind when I took up this role was that I am going back to the genre of a romantic film after eight years, so will I be able to do justice to my role the way I did eight years back. There are a lot of questions that come to my mind like am I doing this fine or shall I let somebody fresher do it. Those are questions that I ask myself. When I was doing it, I actually found an answer to those questions. My take on subjects are now different from what it used to be earlier. So, you will definitely see ‘me’ in my role in Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, but it’s different. Sometimes you should just have belief in your craft and go ahead.

On Kabir Singh…

Sometimes, I ask too many questions too before taking up a role. I almost didn’t do Kabir Singh also. My wife had to push me into doing it. I was like you know it’s done by a newcomer, I have so many years of work. It’s a remake and Vijay was the first time seen in this character and he was so good in it. In fact, I loved him. People already have so much of an impression about me since I have done Tommy Singh, Haider. So, I had my questions because I have done edgy roles.

On doing different roles and cinema changing…

I did Kaminey in 2007 and Haider in 2014 and Udta Punjab too. So, I was very happy to experiment very early when the general mood was ‘you should not experiment with roles’. It was like if you are a mainstream actor you can’t experiment, if you experiment you are not mainstream. I was like this is ridiculous. You have to find a way of taking different subjects to a wider audience. Our job is to refine our craft and not create hard boundaries for ourselves. There should be no fences in the creative field. That’s what I have been doing for the last few years, trying to find compelling stories, interesting characters with great drama, emotion and entertainment. Now I think the audiences’ palate is also evolving. And it’s a very positive thing because I had started it long back to push the boundary. And now we are  able to make breakthroughs in that space.

AI taking over …how much is it a threat to cinema and the entertainment industry?

The rules and regulations always follow after a decade after it has become relevant. I think the issues are more to do with that. The thing is that when you realise it is coming you need to prepare yourself for that. So, that it is not abused. There are all kinds of videos going around. We cannot stop technology from growing, but we have to create a strong kind of system around it which binds it legally.