Neelima feels that Haider’s a coming-of-age film for Shahid. “He has a very strange almost vulnerable and a slightly whimsical quality, which all actors, dancers and musicians have.”

The doting mother further says, “I have seen Shahid as a seven-year-old child in a TV serial which had stories dealing with children’s issues. In one of the stories, Shahid plays a child whose custody has been given to the father. It deals with his emotional trauma being separated by his mother and his ability to transcend that obstacle. Even then he had amazing potential. His journey to acting has been enriched through theatre and classical music. Nobody knows that he knows how to play the tabla and sitar. When he was a child he would often sit on Pandit Birju Maharaj’s lap listening to him. Panditji was my teacher as I am a classical dancer. From then, Shahid would pick up the subtle abhinavs. He has imbibed so much — Haider has brought it all out. It was a very complex role to play with, a difficult graph showing his inner turmoil to turning completely insane.”