The power behind Shahid Kapoor’s throne

Actor owes his success to Vishal Bhardwaj as all eyes are set on how the duo works magic in the upcoming Haider.

MUMBAI:

“This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.” These are the opening words of Lawrence Olivier’s 1948 film adaptation of Hamlet. Not only are we reminded of these words because Shahid Kapoor will soon be seen in Vishal Bhardwaj’s depiction of the Shakespearean tragedy, but also because, interestingly, they seem to epitomise the actor’s career trajectory.

With a diverse palette of films that ranges from the coming-of-age love story Ishq Vishk (2003) to caper thriller Kaminey (2009) to masala film R... Rajkumar (2013), Kapoor has been swaying back and forth in terms of his film choices. But, with his upcoming film Haider (an adaptation of Hamlet), he might just be able to find his strong suit in the industry.



Kapoor feels, “An actor works with all kinds of directors. When he (Bhardwaj) wrote the script of Haider, he called me and said ‘You are very lucky. Whenever I cast you in any film, your role is written really well.’” He added, “I guess, he is really lucky for me. I have never received this kind of response for myself.”

The actor’s look in the trailer of Haider has aroused curiosity among both the critics and audience as it is being touted as his most refined performance to date. Accompanied by co-star Shraddha Kapoor and Bhardwaj at a promotion event for Haider, Kapoor spoke about the magic that Haider seems to be spinning for him already.



“It happened with Kaminey. People reacted to the look and the vibe. Nothing happened for four years and now, after five years, it is happening again. I owe a lot of my career to Bhardwaj,” he shared. Kapoor was scared to go bald for the film and that, too, for just one day of shoot, but his passion for making Haider possible made him do it. “It’s the most difficult role I have done in my career, I would say. It’s definitely a very intense character.”

“But this is the kind of film that you do from your heart and for your heart, and there are others that you do for box-office numbers,” he commented. Haider is all set hit the theatres on October 2 this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2014.

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