I feel nervous even after 15 years in this industry: Shahid

It has been 15 years since he had his first tryst with the movies — he debuted with Ishq Vishk (2003) — but Shahid Kapoor still feels “nervous” and “anxious” as an actor.

“And trust me, it’s good to feel nervous, as well as anxious. I feel great about the need to deliver,” says Shahid, now busy prepping for the Hindi remake of the Telugu hit, Arjun Reddy.

It’d be interesting to know if, at this stage of his career, he’s as excited or nervous about acting as he was during his first shot for Ishq Vishk. “I think when I gave my first shot, I was largely excited. Even now, things are the same, but maybe that excitement is not at the forefront because I’m also thinking about other things. Now I know that excitement is something that has to be channelled properly,” he says.

The Batti Gul Meter Chalu actor feels that “just getting excited might not necessarily work”. He explains, “See, different characters need different energies. So, the idea is to find fresh energy every time and look for a new person (in the script), who’s real and whose energies are palpable. You should be like, ‘Haan, yeh banda sahi hai (to portray in a film).’ That’s actually the biggest challenge as an actor.”

Although Shahid has, time and again, proved his worth as a versatile actor in disparate films such as Jab We Met (2007), Kaminey (2009), Haider (2014), Udta Punjab (2016), and Padmaavat, he refuses to rest on his laurels. “What’s gone is gone. I don’t think the audience cares what you did last year. What matters to them is what you’re doing today — and every actor should have that reality check,” says Shahid.

So, what are his top film fundas? “Regardless of how big or small (an actor) you are, what you’re doing today is going to connect with people. So an actor should be like, ‘Is this (script/film) going to excite people? Is it going to reach far and wide?’ Today matters, yesterday doesn’t,” says the actor, who’s slated to play 1998 Asian Games boxing gold medallist NG Dingko Singh in a biopic by Raja Krishna Menon.

PHOTO: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP Actor Shahid Kapoor is slated to play a boxing champ in one of his next films