MUMBAI: At the UTV office, Shahid Kapoor is in jaunty form. A lot of wisecracks and small talk later, we sit in the conference room for a chat. His excitement level is so high that he accidentally knocks down his mug of coffee and rushes for tissues to wipe the mess on the long table. As the PR requests us to keep our queries restricted to “Haider” and UTV, he twinkles, “You can ask me about ‘Khoobsurat,’” and guffaws. So is he feeling threatened by Fawad Khan, I quip, and he looks daggers at me! Banter over, we move to the Q & A. Excerpts from an interview:
Q: Did you ever imagine doing this kind of role?
A: Never! An actor is always surprised at the way filmmakers perceive him. I never thought I would get to play Hamlet, say, “To be or not to be,” hold a skull in my hand, film in Kashmir, get to act with artists like Irrfan, Kay Kay Menon and Tabu. That’s what makes acting a great adventure — different people see you in different ways and want to mould you differently.
Now, every time I start work on a new film, I go with a clean slate, unlike when I used to think of the way I would do it. Now I know that a film is the journey of the filmmaker and once he starts downloading information on me, that’s when I start the process of understanding and processing it.
More than “R … Rajkumar,” this film has liberated me, and it is not easy to go bald and go and act for hours. Just moving from a Prabhudheva to a Vishal Bhardwaj is scary but fun. I am ready for anything today. And this is a different version of “Hamlet,” because the original may not have connected with the Indian audience. The freshness was clear, as Kashmir gives it freshness and a different subtext.
Q: Do you think people wanted to see you in the kind of entertainer that “R…Rajkumar” was, which is why it worked while so many films like “Kaminey” and others did not?
A: I don’t look at it like that. If I do another film like “R … Rajkumar” it will probably make more money. The first time is the test, in which the audience decides whether they like you in a specific kind of role, especially if you are switching genres. For the producer, it is about putting the money on you. That film opened up a certain genre for me.
An actor has borrowed dreams, not his own. It is about participating in someone else’s dream. Right now it is “Haider” and I am now going to be a part of the world of “Shaandaar.” We are like kids in a candy store offered a choice.
The old-school theories have been blasted in the last decade. I have heard a lot of that. Their kind of films work too, but the old school is convinced that films like “Taare Zameen Par” and “Munna Bhai MBBS” would never work.
Besides, you must do a film when you are ready for it, not because others are doing the same thing. I used to wonder whether I would be accepted or whether people would laugh at me in Prabhudheva’s film, but our convictions worked, because I am not this toughie who can send 30 villains flying! (Laughs)
Q: What do you have to say about the fact that on Oct. 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, we are getting two violent films?
A: (Guffaws) But my film also has family emotions!
Q: And the clash with “Bang Bang!” — what about that?
A: A five-day weekend must be enough for two good films. If either film falters in audience expectations, it will not do well. The lack of a second release will not affect it positively, except maybe by ten percent.
Q: You are completely confident about “Haider”?
A: You see, a film whenever it is completed, looks completely different on the editing table. That’s when we find that it’s been such a long, interesting and even unpredictable journey.
Q: You said that you are in a happy space. Is that about the released hit or the two films you are doing?
A: I think I have realized that being happy with the process makes you a better actor and person. Earlier I would be very concerned about the result and would be disappointed with flops. That’s why I am in a happy space.