In an industry fuelled with nepotism and star power, he is one of the few men standing tall, majorly on their own accord. Many would mistakenly judge him by his father, the veteran and highly talented actor Pankaj Kapur’s name, few know that Shahid Kapoor had to hit the cross roads to make an identity of his own in the tinsel town which was then ruled only by the Khans and the Bachchans. From the vulnerable and shy lad of Ishq Vishk to the mature and effervescent military officer from Mausam, Shahid is now as strong as a consort battleship. But it had never come easy to him. We present to you one of the finest actors of the industry in a bubbling chat with us.
Lineage or Talent: Your pick would be: I started off in 2003 and before that, I was working hard as any other struggling actor. My father is Pankaj Kapur but honestly, I never wanted to use that and wanted to prove myself. So I have gone out there, done a lot of auditions. I have kind of struggled the way any struggler would to get a break. I did over 200 auditions and got rejected in all of them. So the first thing you need to learn as an actor is to accept Rejection. The people, who deal with rejections well are probably the ones who stay the longest in the ring! I even spent one night in a Maruti 800 when I did not have any place to sleep. That was life for me.
100 crore film or a good film,You would go for: Both! In today’s generation, all of us are trying to break it free. I feel audiences are ready for all kinds of films today. That is a major plus. There is an audience for a Kahaani, an audience for a Singham, for Chennai Express, for a Barfi!. So yes, today all films are accepted equally well. And as an actor, it is very important to recognize that. You cannot be running after anything blindly. I think you should not run after box office so blindly and at the same time, you cannot disrespect the fact that a film that makes this much amount of money is not relevant. It is important to draw the right balance. I will always try to do films that will turn out as big box office churners and do films that will help me evolve as an actor. I feel an importance in both.
Priyanka told she would not never be charmed with flowers and chocolates because its too cliché. If you had to charm her you would: I wish I had an answer to that. I prefer flowers and chocolates to do the trick.
If you were marooned on an island and were given the option to choose any three women to come along with you, you would choose: Three?? Are you mad? It would be a disaster then. Even one is difficult enough to be handled. Three women together will drive me nuts.
Something that turns Shahid on is: Eyes, lips, perfume.
Something that turns Shahid off is: Arrogance.
A phrase you use quite often: What are you saying?
Last time you cried was: I don’t cry often. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I cried.
If someone of the same sex hits on you, you would: It depends. If someone is behaving out of line, then you would obviously behave a bit curt with them. If someone does something with subtlety, then obviously I would deal it in a lot easier manner. I am not homophobic at all and I rarely get hit on by a guy because I don’t give out that vibe.
Something you are guilty of: Insomnia and terrible sleeping hours. That’s why these interviews are scheduled so late! I get up very late and my Shabbakhairs on Twitter come about 3 in the morning.
A role you wish you had done: There are a lot of roles yaar, I am very greedy! I wish I did ‘Scarface’ and the Joker, which is my favourite part ever!
A role you wished you had not done: Trust me there are more than six-seven roles like that. But talking about them would be a bit inappropriate.
