Shahid Kapoor on turning 39: ‘ Success and failure come and go but family is priority for me’

Shahid Kapoor, who created a stir at the box office disruptor with Kabir Singh last year, is busy shooting for his upcoming film, Jersey, in Chandigarh, where he’ll be seen playing a cricketer for the first time. As he turns a year older today, he stresses that this year, he wants to connect to his inner self, remain “a student for life” and “stay good and pure”. He plans on celebrating the day working on the sets of the film, surrounded by colleagues and family. Excerpts:

How do you plan on celebrating your birthday today?

I’m celebrating my birthday in Chandigarh by shooting. I might get a little time off once my family is here and I’ll be spending some time with them. It’s a working birthday for me as I’m in the middle of the schedule and I didn’t want to take a break.

Is there any professional or personal goal that you want to fulfil as you step into a new year?

Being grounded is very important. Success and failure come and go but family is priority for me. To sustain a career that’s long, you need to stick to the basics and you need to stay connected with yourself as a human being. I feel very fortunate that I’ve two kids and my wife by my side. I’m happy that we’re always there for each other.

What are some of your fondest birthday memories from childhood?

My childhood memories of my birthday include some bad behaviour on my part. I was quite into gifts. I would grab gifts from the guests and run away with them. My mum would get very embarrassed. She would call me back and ask me to thank them and behave well. But I was very greedy for gifts. That’s something I remember and I hope I can teach my kids to not be like that ( laughs).

2019 has proven to be a game changing year for you. With Jersey releasing this year, how do you look forward to 2020?

What happened with Kabir Singh is something that made us all extremely happy. It has been a great year. Eventually an actor understands that nothing matters more than the love and connection that you’ve with the audience. They gave Kabir Singh much more than what any of us had expected. I’m very grateful and thankful about that. I don’t want to assume that everything I do will be the same but the only thing I want to do is to give them a really good film. When I saw Jersey, it moved me emotionally. I felt that the message that the film gave was very inspiring and it’s a sensitive film about the victory of the human spirit. I wanted to take the story forward and share it with a wider audience. I enjoy giving people something new and fresh each time. I don’t believe in formulas and today, the audience wants to see different things. Jersey will have its own unique energy and a very character to offer the audience.