Meena Iyer (DNA; January 28, 2018)

As I walk into Shahid Kapoor’s Juhu apartment, I do a double flip. The Bollywood superstar wears a lean, mean frame and is looking younger than his 36 years. On screen though (in his last outing Padmaavat) he stands tall. As the Rajput King who defends the honour of his queen and dynasty, Shahid lends a quiet dignity to his role. He is the underdog, so to speak, but you do root for him, nevertheless. Over to Sasha...

Congratulations on Padmaavat. You’ve walked away with a lot of praise for your part as Maharawal Ratan Singh...
Thank you so much. It was a task doing such a role in a film that had such author-backed parts. I’m glad that people have liked my work.

Are you happy that Padmaavat is here finally, at least in most states?
Yes, I was eager for it to open in cinemas. We (Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh, Sanjay Bhansali sir and I) gave one-and-a-half years of our lives to this film. And it just went into this huge spin. Initially, all of us thought that December 1, when it was meant to release originally, felt really far away. But look at this now. It finally came on January 25! It was a long wait, but it’s a film worth waiting for.

The release hasn’t sunk in yet. Usually, before a film hits the marquee, actors are all over the place promoting it. This time, we went nowhere. Of course, I’m aware that everyone knows about Padmaavat. Even people who don’t normally watch movies have called and said they are keen to watch it. And those who have already seen it have loved it. It’s sad that the film couldn’t be released in certain states. Most of what has happened has occurred without people viewing it.

Padmaavat is pro-India, it is pro our culture and pro the people it has been made for. It should be watched by everyone. I’ve given one year of my life to personify the valour and dignity that the Rajput kings of that time stood for. I thought to myself — we have given our blood and sweat to this. Why don’t people see it before raising their concerns? Why are they believing in things without even seeing them?

Even Udta Punjab had courted controversy, right?
Yes. I played a drug addict in it and we were talking about a problem that existed in a certain state. In a way, it was showing an issue that was prevalent in Punjab. We had a tough time getting that film out too.

But the people who loved it the most were from Punjab itself. I remember them reacting to the film on the day of its release. Everyone was so happy that this movie was made and the drug menace of their state had been showcased so well. It had to be spoken about because it would help their families and make their children aware. It’s a massive issue at the grassroot level that must be dealt with. 

There are people who feel that the writing of Padmaavat supports Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh) more. So, why did you agree to be a part of Padmaavat?
On a personal level, it was a huge risk for me. Everyone I know told me not to do the film. They said, ‘It already has Ranveer and Deepika, so why do you want to be the third spoke in the wheel?’ Honestly, even I believed that in the beginning. I thought to myself, it must be a guest appearance. Why would Bhansali sir suddenly think about it two months after the other star cast was announced? But I’m such a huge lover of his work that I had to meet him to try and understand what was going on. He insisted on coming home. I had just had my daughter. And this was the first thing I was starting after Misha’s birth. It was an important juncture in my life. Marriage, baby, etc. I was a young father who was in his first year-and-a-half of his marriage. You get the picture, right? Udta Punjab and Haider had worked, Shaandaar had not. So, it was a time of transit. It was this time when I had one foot in success and the other in failure. And I was trying to find out how I was going to move forward. When Sanjay sir came, he just looked at me and told me what was the role. He asked me, ‘Why do you think that the negative character is the only character that matters? Even the positive character can be good.’

He assured me that I would be happy at the end of the experience and I said, ‘Yes’ to the project. I didn’t even read the script. I wanted to work with him on the basis of that trust. However, 10 days before filming, he told me, ‘If you don’t read the script, I won’t start the shoot because tomorrow. I don’t want you to say, this is not the way I thought it would be’. I read the script and realised why he chose me and not a newcomer. I understood he wanted a recognised face of a certain value to play this role.

The love story of Padmaavat is only between Deepika and you...
People have seen Ranveer and Deepika together in two of Sanjay sir’s earlier films — Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela and Bajirao Mastani. They liked them in both, but in Padmaavat, there is a strong love story between Maharawal Ratan Singh (me) and his queen Rani Padmavati (Deepika). The characters of Ranveer and Deepika don’t have a single shot together.

Also, there is a lot of drama between all the three characters. There is drama between Khilji and Ratan Singh, and between him and Padmavati. That needed to work. Sanjay sir has offered me a good part. And those who have seen the film have understood why I did this role.

Did you also agree to take up this film as you have been an admirer of Bhansali’s work?
I like my work to speak for itself. Fortunately, God has been kind and I’ve found my centre. I’m feeling good about myself and I’m happy that most of my work has found appreciation. But if it wasn’t for my wife, I may have missed out the opportunity of working with Sanjay sir, whose work I’ve always loved. Mira was the only one who encouraged me to do Padmaavat. She asked me to put my faith in the project and do it. If Mira hadn’t told me, I may not have done Padmaavat because everyone else was asking me to say ‘No’ to this film. 

You have started doing only one film at a time. Is that deliberate?
I knew that if I did Padmaavat, I won’t be doing any other movie along with it because I’ve become like that. I do one film at a time. I like to change my silhouette for every movie. I really feel as if I’m cheating a filmmaker if I don’t give the film everything that I’ve got. I don’t think that today you need to do three films to stay connected with your audience and fans. I know doing multiple films works for a lot of people. But it is not required. There was a time when you had to do three to four films a year to be in the news. But today there is so much visibility.

And what is important is — what you are doing and how people view it. One good film can take you 20 steps ahead while one bad movie can push you down to a point where it’s difficult to get back. We are in different times right now. This is great for me because I’ve always been that person who likes to do one film at a time. I’ve believed that you have to put yourself completely into something and then if it is not successful, at least you know that you have given it your best shot. It has been walking through fire for a year. I had been waiting to prove myself, my mettle and justify to all those people who felt that I shouldn’t have done this film.

What were the dynamics like on the set of Padmaavat?
I’m used to being the favourite of all my filmmakers. This was the first time that I was like an outsider. When you work with a team that has worked together, you are kind of an outsider and it takes time for you to break through that barrier. And this film has two extremely strong parts. Deepika’s and Ranveer’s roles on paper are phenomenal and as an actor you know that you have to go there and do your best. This is one of those films where after many years of work you feel like a newcomer. Like you know, ‘Oh, so what am I doing here?’ That kind of thing. But I had an amazing time. The best thing about Sanjay sir is that he is ruthless in his creative desire. He is extremely intuitive towards artistes and his craft. And he doesn’t care whether it is 4 am or midnight, or whether it is 82 days or 100 days or what the cost of one day’s shooting is or if someone is emotionally spent.

He will drive through everything to achieve what he wants. He has that single-minded passion towards creating something that is in his mind. Either you go along with him or you get left behind. There is no option. Only people who strive for excellence have the stamina to keep going till you hit the ground and get up again, and then hit the ground again. If you are not ready for that kind of a ride, you cannot work with Mr Bhansali.  

Is SLB that temperamental?
Honestly everyone would say, ‘Sanjay sir is damn difficult, yaar, he is temperamental, and he says anything.’ And I was like,  I’ve heard worse things about myself. So, let’s see what happens. Let’s figure this one out. To me, his work speaks for what he is all about. And I had an amazing time working with him because I’ve this attention for detail problem. I see things in the minutest detail and people often say, ‘Stop fussing.’ But I’m like that.

However, here was someone with whom I was sitting, staring at the monitor and just learning. Sometimes, Sanjay sir took four hours to set his frame. I was like — finally I’ve met this guy who is so particular about everything, it’s fantastic. Of course, it’s challenging to work with him because actors do feel emotionally spent after a point, but I was loving it.

Was the journey of Padmaavat satisfying?
I remember once I came back from the shoot and Mira asked me, ‘So how did it go?’ because I was filming for nearly 15 hours that day. And I said to her that we didn’t do a single shot that day. She was like, ‘What?’ She turned around and said, ‘But you look really happy.’ I told her, ‘Yes, we didn’t do a shot today, but we have worked towards doing a great shot tomorrow.’ She said, ‘Shahid, you haven’t looked so happy when you have come back from films where you’ve done a lot of work in one day. But you look really content now.’ And essentially that’s how it was. The journey and the process was very satisfying.