I have never wanted to be anybody really, Shahid

Source: CNN-IBN

Say hello to Shahid Kapur, an actor who is latest heartthrob of young girls across the country. He has been in the movies for only a few years but has already gathered a sizeable fan following.


CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand reveals the true Shahid, a simple 25-year-old guy, who borrows money from his driver when he forgets his wallet at home, hates to catch up with the fitness routine of his girlfriend and shudders to see a huge mobile phone bill.


Rajeev Masand: You are just 25 years of age. Tell me, how difficult is it for a young star like you to not get carried away by the fame, power and money offered by your profession? Is it difficult to keep your head on your shoulders?


Shahid Kapur: I don’t think it's that hard. I have my father at home who is extremely established and a very good actor. Everyday when I come back home, he reminds me of the fact that I have just begun and that I still have a long way to go. My father is somebody who has followed his own conviction. He always followed what he believed. He tells me that fame and wealth are the kind of things that will come and go. What you truly are, is what will eventually remain.


Rajeev Masand: But isn’t it easy to get carried away? At 25, earning the kind of money and fame that you enjoy is something that you perhaps would not have got in any other profession. Isn’t it difficult to stay firmly on the ground?


Shahid Kapur: I was only 23 when Ishq Vishq released. Initially, adjusting to a whole new environment did take time. I came from an extremely middle class background and I’ve seen times when I did not have enough money to fill petrol in my car. I gave a lot of auditions and I struggled a lot. So, I have seen that side of life as well.


Initially, one does gets excited with the fame and the success and the luxuries. But then these are all distractions that move away your attention from the true purpose of why you are here. You are here to do good work and if you want to focus on that, you actually have to give up all those luxuries. This industry is the biggest teacher of them all. It whips you well if you don’t have your head on your shoulders.




Rajeev Masand: Have you always wanted to be an actor? Both your parents are actors, so was it inevitable really?

Shahid Kapur: Honestly, it wasn’t so. I was born and brought up in Delhi where there was little or no influence of films on me. I shifted to Mumbai when I was ten. I saw lot of International films that my father showed me. This was my first exposure to acting. I must have been 17 or 18 when I became this complete movie buff, going to theatres every Friday to catch a film. But I was still skeptical of whether I will be able to do it or not.


If you enter this industry, you need to arm yourself with necessary skills first. I did not have somebody giving me a mega launch of some kind. All that I could fall back on were my own abilities. I was very insecure about it, infact. My parents are no superstars. They are actors. And an actors’ life has got a lot of ups and downs.


I knew that this is the nature of this profession. One day you can be zooming ahead and if you are not careful the very next day you could be nowhere. So, it’s a difficult profession to be a part of. And I am quite aware of that.


Rajeev Masand: You said that you used to watch a lot of films when you were a kid. Tell me what all films inspired you as a kid?


Shahid Kapur: There were a lot of films that influenced me. I watched a lot of English films as well. Like other kids of my age I too went mad about Dilwaale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge when I saw it. Then of course I remember watching Rangeela and Maine Pyaar Kiya. But the ones that really moved were films by serious directors like Kurosawa or Satyajit Ray. I watched a nice mix of commercial as well as art cinema. That’s how I came to know it all.


Rajeev Masand: Who were the actors that you grew up admiring? Who really did you want to be like?


Shahid Kapur: I have never wanted to be anybody really. I am extremely happy being what I am. But there were a lot of people that I looked up to like they were God, like Al Pacino and Tom Cruise in Top Gun.




Rajeev Masand: Of all the characters that you have played in the films, which of them is the one that is closest to your real self?


Shahid Kapur: None of them actually. I don’t think any of the characters have been close to what I actually am.


Rajeev Masand: So you don’t necessarily need to identify with a character to be able to play it well?

Shahid Kapur: Not really. I don’t think that’s necessary at all. As an actor, you are supposed to adapt yourself to what is in the script rather than adapt the script to yourself. I think that is more important. The first and the foremost thing while approaching a role is to realise how the director is seeing it.


A lot of times when you read the script to yourself, you see the role in a certain way. But after you reach on to the sets, you realise that the director, who is like the captain of a ship has been seeing it totally differently. If you make your own version of the role, you might not fit into the larger picture of which you are supposed to be a part of, something that has been envisioned by the director.


So, you need to see the role as the director is seeing it and be sure that you can connect with it in some way. If I see that happening, then I start adding my own inputs to it. Anything in filmmaking cannot be individualistic, it has to be a collaboration otherwise it wont work.


Rajeev Masand: So have there been times when you have clashed with directors?


Shahid Kapur: Yes, there have been. But eventually an actor has to listen to the director because he has the larger perspective.


Rajeev Masand: Are movie stars normal people? Do they have the same concerns, worries, issues like most people?


Shahid Kapur: Most definitely. Stars too come back to their home to their family. You are a star only till the time you are standing in front of the camera. Once the director says ‘cut’ you are again on backslapping terms with everybody. You stay with the crew of the film for many months at times. And you become so familiar with everyone that you are not treated like a star. They treat you like just another guy, and a part of the team.

Rajeev Masand:So tell me, when was the last time you traveled by public transport?


Shahid Kapur: It's been a while. I remember about a year back my car broke down and I had to take a rickshaw from film city to my house.


Rajeev Masand: When was the last time you went to a cinema hall, bought a ticket and watched the film in a packed theatre?


Shahid Kapur: I do that every week. I ideally don’t like going to trials unless of course it’s a friend’s film and you cant say ‘no’. Apart from that, my tickets are booked every week to watch a film.


Rajeev Masand: Tell me how much does a packet of popcorn cost?


Shahid Kapur: I depends on where you are going. In most of the multiplexes it comes for Rs 40 or 45, which is very expensive.


Rajeev Masand: When was the last time you borrowed money from a friend or a parent?


Shahid Kapur: Lots of times. I almost always forget to carry cash. And the best thing is that Kareena never has cash on her. She always says, ‘Oh I forgot’. Most often I think it’s my driver who lends me the cash. Sometimes when I have to buy a magazine or a newspaper I borrow change from my driver.


Rajeev Masand: You live alone. Can you cook?

Shahid Kapur: I can make tea. I can heat all cooked food for myself in a microwave. Actually I’m lucky because my father stays right below my house and they have some awesome meals ready all the time. So most often I have the food coming up to me from his house. Then of course I am lucky to have a servant who cooks very well for me.


Rajeev Masand: Do you know what your mobile bill is?


Shahid Kapur: Yes, I know and I go red in the face every time I see it. I promise myself every month that I wont let it hike that much next time. But it just keeps getting higher and higher. I can’t even help it because I’m out of the country so much.

Rajeev Masand: So who is on your speed dial list?


Shahid Kapur: A lot of people actually. My parents, Kareena, my younger brother Ishan, my driver, my makeup boy are on speed dial.


Rajeev Masand: What is that one habit of yours that Kareena can't put up with?


Shahid Kapur: Sleeping. She says that I oversleep all the time.


Rajeev Masand: And what is that one habit of hers that you can't put up with?


Shahid Kapur: She has this habit of working out twice a day. She does yoga in the morning and then goes to the gym in the evening. This messes up the whole day’s plan. And then we end up meeting only at night even when it’s been a free day all along. I really find this irritating.


Rajeev Masand: What are your biggest indulgences? Where do you like to spend?


Shahid Kapur: I don’t have any indulgences as such. I do like to shop for clothes when I am abroad. But you can’t really call them indulgences. I just bought myself a house and a new car. These are the most expensive things that I have bought so far.


Rajeev Masand: You and Kareena like going on holidays. So are these your occasional breaks?


Shahid Kapur: We have just started taking holidays together. When you work all the time, you end up getting no time for yourself. And then you ask yourself why am I working at all? So, going on a holiday is something that I really love. I have decided to take at least a month off every year to just go away and spend time with myself.


In the past three years I have worked everyday but what are the memories that I have created in this time? I need something to look back on when I reach a certain age. It is going to be those memorable holidays that I will look back on.




I just went on a holiday with my family and when I look at those photographs, it really brings a smile on my face. That is what memories are all about.


Rajeev Masand: What are the kind of holidays that you like? Do you like adventure sports, peace, big cities or the countryside? What do you look for in a holiday?


Shahid Kapur: I want to tour the whole world. So you have to choose activities depending upon where you are going. If you are going to South Africa, you will go on safaris and see a lot of wild life. Australia offers you a lot of water sports. If you are somewhere in Europe, Austria or England, you will be spending most of your time indoors.


Rajeev Masand: So, what has been your favourite holiday so far?


Shahid Kapur: I just went on a holiday with my family to Switzerland, London, Vienna and Austria. I loved it more because I was with my family.


Rajeev Masand: You are a vegetarian. So, did you face a lot of difficulty there?

Shahid Kapur: I did face some problems. But we stayed in a self-service apartment where we had this little kitchen where we cooked for ourselves. That was really nice. These days it’s really amazing that you get Indian food in almost every part of the world. You get a lot of vegetarian stuff abroad now.


Rajeev Masand: Do you get bothered by crowds when they recognize you?


Shahid Kapur: Not much. I guess when you are so far away from home you don’t really mind getting recognized once in a while. It feels nice sometimes.


Rajeev Masand: Are you in touch with the people you grew up with?


Shahid Kapur: Not many. But I am in touch with some of my school and college friends. The nature of this profession is such that it just takes over your life. It’s not like being in a nine-to-five office job where you come back from office and then you have time for yourself.




Here you finish shooting, go for dubbing, come back, give an interview and there you have to go to listen to a script. Whatever little time you get, you would rather spend that with your family. So that does limits your social life to a great extent.


Rajeev Masand: So who are your friends? Who do you call friends now?


Shahid Kapur: I have this friend called Rohit. We both gelled so well because both of us wanted to get into films. He wanted to be a director and I had wanted to be an actor. We were both struggling at that time. I remember we used to sit together in a coffee shop and used to make plans discussing when he becomes a director, what role would he give me in his film.


By God’s grace, he is going to be directing a film very soon. But let's see if he would ever have any role that I would fit into.


Then there is this guy called Sriram in Delhi. My grandparents lived in the Patparganj area of east Delhi and this guy was staying in the same building. We used to spend a lot of time together, and we still are in touch with each other.


Rajeev Masand: What about filmy friends?


Shahid Kapur: I do have friends from the film fraternity as well. But they are people who you meet more at social gatherings only. There is hardly anyone that I can call a dear friend in the film industry as yet. I have just started interacting with people and making best buddies takes time.


Rajeev Masand: Finally Shahid, what is the best thing about being a star?


Shahid Kapur: I love films and I love acting. Many-a-times people are not able to do what actually is their passion. I find myself very fortunate that I have got to do what I loved so early in life. This is what gives me the greatest kick.