Shahid Kapoor will be seen in the remake of the Telugu hit Arjun Reddy. Directed by Sandeep Vanga, who also helmed the original movie, the movie is titled Kabir Singh. “The original was very raw, very honest. I don’t think there was anything in the film that was for effect. I just felt it was a brazen journey of a character who goes through an emotional experience which is extreme,” says Shahid.
“The honesty of the film connected with the audience. For a film like that, there is limited audience. But it was loved across the board. The idea is to do it all over again,” he added. The actor says while they have retained the essence of the film, they have also “rediscovered” the project. “We are trying to make it as honest and as raw as it was. Not trying to change anything for the sake of it. We are rediscovering it. Of course the way we do it, there will be some differences.
The film chronicles an alcoholic surgeon who goes on a self-destructive path after his ex-lover gets married. Shahid says he has realised remaking a film is a difficult process as one cannot “copy” the original. “Creating a remake is damn tough. You have loved it for what it was but you can’t go out there and copy it. It has to be a rediscovery,” he says.
The original film, Arjun Reddy, was based in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Kabir Singh is based in Delhi and Mumbai. “May be Arjun and Kabir are cousins but they are not the same person. My journey is only to find Kabir Singh,” adds Shahid. Kabir Singh also features Kiara Advani, and is scheduled to release on June 21.