‘I JUST FOLLOW MY HEART NOW’

Says Shahid Kapoor, who now is less calculative about signing a film

Shahid Kapoor began his film career with romcoms and light-hearted films , and later experimented with serious subjects in films such as Haider (2014) and Udta Punjab (2016). Now, the actor will be seen in period drama Padmavati.

However, the actor thinks his criteria may have changed with time. He says, “I’ve never really been able to judge it. But yes, I think about fewer things now when I do a film. I don’t think about 500 things. I try to keep it simple. I just follow my heart now. Earlier, I used to think about too many things.”

And did he ever have a plan B or wish to explore various aspects of film-making such as direction or production? “I never had a plan A in the first place,” he says with a laugh. “I find every aspect of filmmaking fascinating. I am curious. But my focus is on acting and won’t change for a while. Once you are an actor or a star, a change in orientation would mean taking time off and doing something else. I don’t know if a star can afford to do that. You should be ready to shut shop maybe,” says Shahid.

He adds, “It is about changing your stream of work. People think acting and directing, same hee toh hai (it’s the same). You have to stop acting to make a movie. If you stop acting, who says that it will start again. To give you an example: If I want to make a film in India, and if I go for recce, there will be so many people (gathered) that I will be more of a distraction. So there are so many practical things you have to think about when you shift from being an actor to anybody else. Once you are an actor, you are probably a liability on others if you choose to do anything else. Just because you are an actor and a star, people will handle you as a liability. Yeh aata hai toh yeh problems hoti hai, but woh star hai toh chalo handle kar lete hai.”

He feels people won’t be ready to take that “baggage when a star shifts into any other stream of work”. “But that’s also not my reason. These are just thoughts. My main reason is to focus on acting and get this (acting) to where I think I need to get it to. It’s not there yet; still a long way to go,” says Shahid.

I find every aspect of filmmaking fascinating. I am curious. But my focus is on acting and won’t change for a while. SHAHID KAPOOR, ACTOR