Shahid: I am desperate for a hit film

Shahid Kapoor admits that he is going through a bad patch in his career. The 32-year-old actor’s last hit was Badmaash Company, way back in 2010.

But Shahid doesn’t believe in analysing what went wrong and is focusing on the release of his next film R… Rajkumar.

In conversation with Sonil Dedhia, Shahid explains why he needs luck to favour him, what it’s like working with director Prabhudheva, and why he won’t marry a girl of his father’s choice.

Post Badmaash Company you haven’t had a good run at the box office. Why do you think that is?

I don’t know. There are so many factors. I feel I am going through some bad luck.

When the time is right, almost every decision you make goes right. My time is not right and somehow all my decisions aren’t going right too.

I am working on building equations with people. I want to work with directors who I can completely submit to.

Rajkumar Santoshi, Prabhudheva and Vishal Bhardwaj are the kind of filmmakers I can trust blindly and follow.

What do you mean by building equations?

You can’t have a relationship with words on paper. When you read a script, they are words on paper that you need to convert into a movie.

You will have to spend a year or so with the team, so it is important to be on the same page.

As an actor, you have to make an effort to build equations with the people you work with. You need to take those steps to make the team invest in you and you invest in them. People are more important than words on paper.

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Despite your films not working, directors who have worked with you say that you have got the talent and looks and you are underrated as an actor. Do you agree?

Yes. You are considered a good actor only when you give a superhit film. It’s necessary to be successful to be appreciated.

I feel fortunate that people have always had a lot of faith in me. The audience has given me a lot of love and appreciation. 

I want to achieve a lot of success. I don’t want to hear that the film is not good but you did a good job. I am tired of hearing that.

I am hoping for little luck so that my films do really well. Now I am desperate for a hit film.

You talk about luck, are you superstitious?

No, I am not. I remember when my first film (Ishq Vishk) was to release, my mother made me wear an emerald ring. It looked ugly and I used to hide it.

But my first film did well and I started thinking that the ring really worked. Unfortunately, my next three films flopped so I realised these things don’t work.

If my film does well, I should take credit for that. But if my film doesn’t do well then I must take criticism. I don’t think a piece of stone should get credit for that. I don’t see life like that.

You haven’t really done an out-and-out action film. What was your reaction when you were approached for this film?

I loved the idea. I love the action genre. Every guy dreams of beating up several men in one go!

Prabhudheva has always presented action in his films in a stylised manner. He does not have people or cars or bikes flying all over the space.

He has normal action in his films but shoots in a stylised manner, larger than life kind of way.

Director Prabhudheva and you have explored the diverse sides of filmmaking. How has working with him benefited you?

It was quite an experience. He is a brilliant director.

I have worked with a lot of directors and choreographers but the way Prabhudheva comes up with his ideas is just extraordinary.

He will meet you one day before the shoot, do rehearsals for four, five hours. 

He never praised me but kept pushing me. He said everybody has seen me as a dancer and it is time for me to do something different, which people have not seen.

We shot for 88 days out of which 50 days were kept aside just for action sequences. Action can look boring and mundane but he spends a lot of time on it.

The action in Wanted, Rowdy Rathore or R... Rajkumar is completely different.

Were the action sequences physically demanding?

Yes. When you do films like Kaminey they are challenging as an actor, but when you do a film like R... Rajkumar, you realise it is difficult to be action and mass hero and be able to do song, dance, comedy, action, etc. You are tested at every level.

How was your chemistry with Sonakshi Sinha?

It was superb. She is a good actress and a nice human being.

She picks up the steps fast. Heroines I’ve worked with usually take time to pick up the steps. But she is a good dancer, she remembered all the steps.

She is one of the few heroines who has all the qualities that you need in a heroine.

In the promo, Sonakshi comments on your height and you tell her about her weight. Whose idea was that?

It was Prabhudheva’s idea. He thought of it because he wanted to show realism in the couple. He wanted to show a normal, real couple.

His idea was anybody can fall in love with anyone. I feel he takes from his own life. Although he is a quiet person in real life, he knows exactly how people behave and talk as a mawali.

I think in a way Prabhudheva is living every common man’s fantasy. He often says that people want to see those things in films that they can’t do in real life.

You have started shooting for Vishal Bhardwaj’s next film, Haider. Tell us something about the movie.

We shot in Kashmir, which is a very beautiful place. I last visited the place when I was six years old so I didn’t have many memories.

It was very cold. I felt mad after two days as I started shooting for Haider as soon as I finished shooting for R...Rajkumar. I didn’t have a break in between.

We need to shoot Haider in two different seasons, before it starts snowing there. So it was a different experience shooting there.

There are rumours that your father (Pankaj Kapur) is looking for a girl for you in Punjab.

I can promise you that my father is not looking for any girl for me.

When I read that article I was shooting for Haider in Kashmir and my father was shooting for Finding Fanny in Goa, but according to the article, my father was in Punjab.

He goes to Punjab because some of our family stays there and he also meets a spiritual guru there.

He will never take the pressure on himself because I am quite finicky. I will not marry a girl of my father's choice because he doesn't have to live with the girl, I do! 

Of late a lot of ex-lovers have come together for a film. How comfortable are you working with Kareena again?

I never said no to work with her.

So there won’t be any awkward moments working with her?

No, I don’t think... we never really interacted.

There were reports of awkwardness between you and Kareena during an awards function.

I have not visited any awards function for a while so I don’t know what people are talking about.