At 18, when Pankaj Kapur shared his desire to pursue a career in acting, his father asked him if it was the glamour that he found attractive or if he truly had the ability to act. To find the answer, Kapur decided to join the National School of Drama. When he was leaving home to join NSD, his father, an English professor, told him — ‘Now, don’t look back.’ Kapur didn’t. In a career spanning five decades, the actor has excelled in different genres. During a recent interaction in Nagpur, the actor reflected on his journey in showbiz, recalled his NSD days and more.

The conversation steered towards Kapur’s powerful screen performances and it would have been incomplete without the mention of Abbaji in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Maqbool. Interestingly, Kapur was initially hesitant to play the character.

“When Vishal Bhardwaj approached me with the role, I wasn’t sure of doing it. But he was insistent. So, I asked him to leave the script with me and said I would get back within a month. Eventually, I agreed,” said Kapur, adding, “I later got to know that Bhardwaj had offered the role to Naseeruddin Shah first, but he was interested in playing another character and suggested my name instead. Multiple meetings and discussions helped shape Abbaji’s character more effectively. For example, I had suggested to Vishal that Abbaji, who is short in height, be surrounded by tall, well-built bodyguards. The thought was that it will subtly reflect Abbaji’s authority and power,” said Kapur, who featured in the film with Irrfan and Tabu.

As Kapur spoke about his NSD days, there was a palpable happiness in his voice. “All the people who enter the world of acting hold Konstantin Stanislavski’s name in very high regard. In my first year, I went to the NSD library and took out Stanislavski’s An Actor Prepares,” Kapur recalled, adding, “Coincidentally, the then director of the institute, Ebrahim Alkazi, was walking in front of me. To impress him, I held the book up. He looked at me and asked which book I had taken and I, proudly, said, ‘Sir, I took out An Actor Prepares.’ To my surprise, he asked me to keep the book back on the rack.”

Kapur asked him why and Alkazi’s response changed his perspective. “He told me that Stanislavski wrote this book after 40 years of theatre experience and gave the world the concept of method acting. He told me, ‘You have to make your own way first. Once you achieve that, you can read this book’. Believe me, it’s been 50 years since I passed out of NSD and I have still not read the book. I am very grateful to Alkazi sahab for giving me a chance to discover my own world,” Kapur shared. 

Kapur, who played the builder Tarneja in Kundan Shah’s cult comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, says that many have thought of remaking the film, but no one has till date. “I think such films are made only once in a lifetime. Many have contributed significantly to the film, but Kundan Shah’s name comes first in that list. It was commendable for him to think, write, and then execute with so much hard work and little money. It’s a film which will stay with the audiences for a long time to come,” Kapur shared. 

Appreciating his son Shahid Kapoor’s professional moves, Kapur who has directed him in Mausam, said, “It is not easy to direct him because he is a huge star and a fine artiste. I would like to say that he is the best actor in his age group. The kind of characters he is picking need a lot of courage considering the fact that he is a star. He is constantly finding his way, which is a sign of growth for an actor.”

Saurabh Shukla believed he would need Lady Luck to get his desired actors for his directorial venture, Jab Khuli Kitaab. Who knows whether it was good fortune or the power of a good script, but Pankaj Kapur and Dimple Kapadia agreed to front his family comedy in days.

Revealing that he went to Kapur’s Versova office to hand the script — that revolves around an aged couple whose marriage is shaken by the unravelling of a secret — to him, Shukla recalled, “Pankaj said, ‘I will read it and tell you.’ Within a week, he said yes.”

When Kapadia’s name was suggested for the female lead, the writer and director initially shot down the idea. He thought she would be too big to front his mid-size movie. “She is such a huge star! At that time, she had done [Christopher] Nolan’s film [Tenet] and would have had no shortage of films. I would give my right arm to get her! So, we sent her the script.”

Then came the twist in the tale. “On the third day, I got a call and she said in her beautiful, sexy voice, ‘Saurabh, I’m doing this film, nobody else will do it.’ I couldn’t believe it. Later, we had a chat where she discussed every nuance of the script. In her, I saw a woman who is not only talented, but has also lived a full life.”

Having starred in his classics such as Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), veteran actor Waheeda Rehman shares how filmmaker-actor Guru Dutt’s work continues to be celebrated for its themes, aesthetics, and visionary direction.

On his 100th birth anniversary today, Rehman, says, “When I started working with him, nobody knew he would be making such great classics, not even Guru Dutt himself. I was so fortunate to be a part of his films. People talk about Pyaasa even today. It’s also my favourite film of him.”

The 87-year-old admits that she was deeply influenced by Dutt, who was not only her mentor, but also played a critical role in shaping her into a star. Remembering him as a “very quiet person”, the actor says, “He was very sensitive to artistes’ problems. Once, I couldn’t scream in a film scene, so he said, ‘I am very surprised that a 17-year-old girl can’t scream’. I said, ‘I can’t. I am sorry’. So, he gave me an alternate way.”

Sharing another instance, she adds, “Once I had to rush down the stairs and say a dialogue. I couldn’t do it, but he was patient and told me to take my time. Then my mum, who was present on set, told him, ‘She is asthmatic’. He came to me and said, ‘A director should know his actors’ physical problems, you should have told me before’. He tweaked the scene after that.”

Highlighting his brilliance, she shares how he decided to change a song while the film was running in cinemas: “Chaudhvin Ka Chand was shot in black and white and colour films were coming up then. The film became a hit, and then he thought: ‘If the title song was reshot in colour and added to the film, it’d be more successful’. And it did make a difference. People went to the theatres again and again to see the title song in colour.”

There have been reports about a biopic on Dutt’s life, reportedly starring Vicky Kaushal. Ask Rehman which actor works best to play Dutt, and she says, “Pankaj Tripathi, Pankaj Kapur or Naseeruddin Shah ke face aur kaam mein maturity hai. Aaj ke bachche bahut jawaan hain. Unko play karne ke liye maturity chahiye. Jawaan bachche nahin kar sakte.”

You may remember her as Kitty from Karamchand in the 80s, the unforgettable Mangala Dadi from Golmaal (2006), or countless other roles she’s brought to life with flair. That’s Sushmita Mukherjee for you. Last seen on TV in Meri Saas Bhoot Hai (2023), the seasoned actress is currently focusing on her first love — the stage and is busy with her solo play Naaribai. Sushmita portrays an impressive 26 characters, including three lead parts in the play.

She says, “Performing in this play has been an ego-crushing process, as I personally reached out to people to come watch it. This play has been very fulfilling, allowing me to explore different sides of myself as an artiste.”

Sushmita, who has been on a break from TV, shares, “In my 40-year journey in showbiz, I have played all sorts of roles, including those in the saas-bahu era of television. However, I feel that the language of the medium has become stressful and heavily market driven. But I plan to return to the small screen next year. After all, an actor without work is like a dog without a bone.”

Ask her whether she feels she hasn’t got her due in films compared to television and she replies, “People often tell me that, but I tune it out. If it were meant to be, I would have taken a specific path to achieve it.”

Sushmita holds fond yet bittersweet memories of her time as Kitty in Karamchand. She recalls, “It was a strange phase for Pankaj (Kapur) and me. We couldn’t afford rickshaws, and we were too recognizable to take the bus because of the show’s popularity (laughs!).”

After Karamchand, Sushmita chose not to work for an entire year, determined to avoid being typecast. She explains, “I kept receiving Kitty-like offers, but I didn’t want to repeat myself. Taking up those roles would have limited my career to five or seven years.”

While Kitty made her a household name, Sushmita confesses the constant association with the character felt like a burden for a long time. She says, “At that time, I was ungrateful and didn’t realize the value of that role. I wanted to be like Shabana Azmi because of my love for art cinema and playing a character like Kitty felt bizarre, especially with my NSD background.”

‘Neena Gupta has opened doors for senior actresses, proving that age is no barrier to meaningful roles’

Sushmita holds deep admiration for her National School of Drama (NSD) seniors, including Neena Gupta, applauding them for carving their own paths and creating meaningful opportunities for senior actresses. Sharing a personal connection, Sushmita recalls playing Neena’s mother-in-law in the play The Trojan Women (1983).

She says, “When Neena and her contemporaries entered the industry, opportunities for artistes like us were limited. She has challenged stereotypes and opened doors for senior actresses, proving that age is no barrier to meaningful roles.”

When Pankaj Kapur first said yes to Binny And Family, it revolved around a girl and her grandfather. Years later, when debutant director Ssanjay Tripaathy returned to the veteran actor to finally take the film forward, the story had been tweaked.

“It had become about the girl, her father and grandfather. But I still wanted to do the film because I liked what Ssanjay wanted to say with it. Adding another generation only gave more depth to the film,” he says.

In Binny And Family, newcomer Anjini Dhawan plays a spirited granddaughter to Kapur’s orthodox patriarch. While the slice-of-life movie revolves around generation gap and the characters’ conflicting ideas, on set, the veteran maintained a relationship of equals with his young co-star.

“I don’t think in terms of seniority. I think of us as equal actors and give that respect to my co-stars, irrespective of their age and experience. I give suggestions if they ask, but I don’t believe in patronizing young actors. They are capable on their own.”

Treating everyone as equal and not carrying the baggage of seniority is an idea that he developed early on in his life. Kapur credits his parents for inculcating the value in him. “I was brought up with the philosophy that nothing is hard and fast in life. One should be able to make their own opinion, [not thrust] it on others and let them live the way they want to. I gave the same [values] to my family.”

It is this approach that has made his bond stronger with his kids—actor-son Shahid Kapoor, Sanah and Ruhaan Kapur. “We’re a close-knit family. At the same time, everybody is independent. We don’t come in each other’s way and respect everyone’s individuality. We connect with each other when we get an opportunity; we do not make it a compulsion.”

In his 40-year career, the actor has witnessed many changes in the industry. The one that leaves him marvelling is how actors are spoilt for choice today. “There is no dearth of good projects today. In our times, there were no projects or platforms. We could hardly get a film a year. Today, there are so many platforms. But today’s actors also have to be careful as to what they are working [towards]—their craft and survival, or bank balance, cars and flats. My approach was mainly craft, but for survival, one had to be smart enough to know that you have do a little bit of both. If you see my filmography, you will understand that some projects were done so that I stayed afloat.”

There is a new girl-next-door in Bollywood. Anjini Dhawan is set to make her debut with the feel-good film, Binny And Family. While she is giddy about her entry into the movies, she says the experience was made doubly special by Pankaj Kapur.

“I was nervous about shooting with him. But Pankaj-ji made me so comfortable. He told me, ‘It’s my job to give you cues. So whenever you want them, just ask for it.’ His cues are also as good as his performance,” she smiles. Revolving around three generations of a family, Ssanjay Tripaathy’s directorial venture also features Himani Shivpuri and Rajesh Kumar. 

Closer home, Anjini has a popular actor—uncle Varun Dhawan—to guide her. She says, “The consistent advice that he has given me is to be honest and confident.”

As the nepotism debate continues, Anjini is aware that she benefits from access to industry insiders. But she asserts that not a single opportunity has come by without an audition.

“Today, if I’m confused about something, I can pick up the phone on someone experienced. I’m grateful for that. I know not everyone can get that guidance. But nobody can hold my hand and take me through my journey. It’s ultimately on how the audience receives my performance. Being related to someone is not a reason for people to like you. I’ve never been offered a script without an audition, and there have been rejections too.”

That said, she acknowledges that outsiders have it far tougher. “To some extent, star kids get chances even if the audience rejects them because they have someone backing them. But no one has ever offered me a film just because I am Varun’s niece. Even for Binny And Family, the director had seen an old audition of mine.”

After Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub bagged a Septimius Award in the Best Asian Actor category for his performance in OTT show Scoop, filmmaker Hansal Mehta, who directed the series alongside Mrunmayee Lagoo Waikul, took to X to share a congratulatory message. Expressing his frustration about the delayed recognition of Ayyub’s performance, Mehta wrote, “You can’t keep a good man down. Congratulations @Mdzeeshanayyub for this much-delayed but very richly deserved award. This one’s for all those juries that chose to ignore your stellar performance... (sic).”

Reacting to Mehta’s post, Ayyub tells us, “It was Hansal sir who informed me about my nomination. Initially, I was planning to attend the awards as well. But as I got busy and received no further updates, I assumed nothing had come of it.”

Resonating with Mehta’s disappointment, the 40-year-old actor says, “Despite being the main lead in the show, I was consistently placed in the supporting actor category by many award shows. This ongoing oversight, especially over the past year, frustrated both me and [Mehta] sir.”

Ayyub goes on to add that he’s always felt snubbed at award shows. “Initially, it used to hurt a lot, especially when my performance for Raanjhanaa (2013) went unnoticed. Industry welcomed me…audition wali stage khatam ho gayi thi but apart from being nominated at one or two award shows, others ignored me. Only some critics put me on their list of best performances. Uss time pe bura laga tha ki kya hua!” he shares.

Ask whether awards genuinely make a difference for an actor and Ayyub explains, “It is just a recognition of one’s efforts. You take your work more seriously, ki yeh ek award mila hai.”

But awards are not the ultimate validation for him. “It has been 15 years for me in the industry, and the kind of respect I have got from the audience and industry people, I cannot deny that. Great actors like Irrfan sahab, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Bajpayee have praised me. Yeh validation hoti hai rather than award shows,” he concludes.

Getting acting heavyweights like Pankaj Kapur, Naseeruddin Shah, Arvind Swami, Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra in one room can be an uphill task. Anubhav Sinha is surprised that the stellar cast — which includes Vijay Varma, Dia Mirza and Patralekhaa — has come together for his maiden series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack. The upcoming thriller traces the 1999 hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight 814, in which a group of militants hijacked the Delhi-bound aircraft carrying 173 passengers and flew to several locations before landing in Kandahar.

Sinha knew his working relationship with Kapur, developed on Dus (2005) and Bheed (2023), would give him an advantage. “Pankaj bhai said, ‘Main nahin karunga,’ but I knew he would,” says the filmmaker, who has co-created, co-written and directed the thriller. Despite his faith in the material, Sinha was skeptical about getting the nod from Shah and Swami. He was pleasantly surprised on both occasions.

“I had thought it would be difficult to cast Naseer bhai because he does less work and is more interested in doing theatre. I was halfway into proposing the role to him, and he said yes. As for Arvind, we got on a conference call, and he said, ‘Okay.’ But I was [still unsure] whether he was doing it. But how do you ask [again] if the person has said okay?” he laughs.

Varma, who plays the pilot flying the ill-fated aircraft, also said yes more easily than Sinha had assumed. The director recalls, “When he left [the meeting], I thought we’d send him the script, he would read it and tell us if he wanted to do it. But two hours later, they were already talking dates. I wasn’t on such terms with him that I could call and say, ‘Script toh bheji nahin maine!’”

When Netflix approached Sinha to retell the story of the Kandahar hijack, he realized he was unaware of many details of the chapter. That motivated the director to probe further.

“The plane landed in Kandahar on the morning of December 25, the Indian negotiation team reached on December 26. On a conversation level, you’d say, ‘Why did it take them [so long] to reach?’ But there was so much going on at home. [They] had to know what they could offer. There were moral, ethical and political questions that the government was dealing with.”

The series shows the attack could have been averted. So, have we learned from history? “The human mind doesn’t learn from history; we make it worse. Nine months after this, 9/11 happened. So, that was the time when militants were toying with the idea of using an aircraft as a weapon. So, one has to think ahead of them and make sure this doesn’t happen again. But [such events] are still happening.”

Actor Shahid Kapoor talked about feeling like an ‘outsider’ in Bollywood despite being the son of veteran actors Pankaj Kapur and Neliima Azeem, in a recent episode of the podcast No Filter Neha, with actor Neha Dhupia.

“I didn’t have the qualities to be a campy person (part of a Bollywood camp). I came from Delhi to Bombay (Mumbai) and for the longest time, I was an outsider because my accent was different,” the 43-year-old actor told Dhupia, adding how he wasn’t able to “jump-start” his career despite his father’s industry connections.

The Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya and Farzi actor also recounted enduring persistent “bullying’ throughout his life, “I came into this industry and realized, ‘Yeh toh school ki tarah hi hai. Outsiders are not accepted easily here. So, for many years, I dealt with that,” said Kapoor, adding, “But I don’t like this campy thing. I think people who want to creatively collaborate should do that. But that doesn’t mean you diss other people and try to put other people down or close the doors to other people.”

The actor, who started out as a background dancer for songs in films such as Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Taal (1999), and made his acting debut with Ishq Vishk (2003), recounted not having the confidence to fight back as a teenager. “But now, if you try to bully me, I will bully you right back. I will bully the bully because they deserve it,” he said.

Supriya Pathak, who featured in Satyaprem Ki Katha earlier this year, says that she always enjoyed writing short stories as a young girl, and recently, she was seen in a short film called Gangster Ganga, where she played a grandmother.

Ask her if she had any reservations about playing the part, and she says, “I am a grandmother in real life. So, why not? Shahid (Kapoor) is not my biological son, but he is like my son and his children are my grandchildren. So, why should I refrain from playing a grandmother in a film?”

Supriya and Pankaj Kapur’s son Ruhaan got married to actor-couple Seema and Manoj Pahwa’s daughter Manukriti in an intimate wedding in Mumbai on August 28 this year. March last year, their daughter Sanah tied the knot with Seema-Manoj’s son Mayank in Mahabaleshwar.

Sharing her happiness over how the two families had two weddings in the last one year, Supriya said, “Both the families now laugh over how ‘dono families ki len den theek ho gayi’. The interesting part was how the kids planned the weddings.”

She added, “We have known Seema and Manoj for many years now and have celebrated festivals, birthdays and even gone on holidays together. My kids would always spend time at Seema’s home and the four of them were best friends. They have literally grown up together. ”

The actress is happy about how the family is now bigger with more actors. She said, “It is interesting how one by one, more actors have been added to the family. I would love to be part of an ensemble cast and work together on a project. Shahid and I have never been cast together, but I would love to work with him.”

Social media has taken over people’s lives and become an integral part of it. But that doesn’t apply to Pankaj Kapur. The actor, who was recently seen in Bheed, has an unverified account on Instagram and isn’t very active online, either. He is not a fan of having his personal life on display for public consumption.

“It’s fear, nothing else,” shares the 69-year-old actor, explaining, “It is over exposure. I have a fear of my life being in [front of] everyone’s eyes. I am a private person, simple, middle class. Acting and writing is my passion and job. I don’t want people to peep into my house.”

Although, in today’s technology driven age, there can be a flip side to not being present on social media. Kapur states, “I lost out on ad films because they expect you to upload it on your Instagram. I say, ‘I have nothing’. I don’t want to look at my mobile to see how many people are following me. I’m striving to improve upon my ability as a performer. I would rather spend more time doing that. At the same time, I respect other people who use social media. World over, people are being cast on the basis of how popular they are on Instagram and have a certain level of following. Surely, this is the new way of going about it.” The Jersey (2022) actor recently performed Dopehri, a play written by him at a theatre festival.

His kids, actors Shahid Kapoor and Sanah Kapur, are quite active and share glimpses of their lives on the medium and the Lost (2022) actor “understands that electronic media is required for younger actors”. “I am not saying there is anything wrong in people doing it (posting on social media). My own children are [posting], the world is! They understand it better. I don’t,” says Kapur.

However, the actor is not entirely against the idea of having a social media presence. “I am not saying I will never [join social media]. If tomorrow I feel it is the need of the hour, I might. I don’t feel the need right now. I am happy without it,” he ends.

Pankaj Kapur has been a part of the film industry for four decades and earned several accolades despite being “choosy” with his projects. However, the actor says he has “become a little less choosy now”.

He adds, “If roles are offered to me in a professional manner, why would I not do it? I love my work; it’s my passion. One has to inform producers and directors that I am available to work; maybe they are under the assumption that I do little work. Yes, I do, but I’m open to the idea of doing a lot [of projects]. In the last two years, I have been more active in cinema and web shows.” Kapur recently performed a dramatic reading of a novella he had written, himself, at the Delhi Theatre Festival.

Ask what his requirements are while signing a film and the 69-year-old shares, “A bound script, dates, money and inputs for creative outlook towards projects [is a requirement]. I read 10 scripts in a year and [usually] feel maybe two or three are workable. The rest are not my cup of tea because I have done roles like them before. If dates or money don’t work out, or there is too much stubbornness on the part of writers or the director doesn’t want to budge at all, then one can’t do it.”

Up until now, the Lost actor has had more positive experiences than negative with makers. “Most directors I worked with have welcomed my inputs, and we have been able to do some enriching work together,” he signs off.

It was around when he was about six or seven, Shahid Kapoor recalls, his father Pankaj Kapur took him out to New Delhi’s popular food joint, Nirula’s, for a meal. Unbeknownst to what would hit them, the two were suddenly surrounded by “a hundred people, who’d picked up gajar [carrots], and were charging at them on their restaurant table—almost like zombies, going, Hehehe…. Gajar khaiye, gajar, hehehe…”

“Par mein bete ke saath pizza kha raha hoon [But I’m having pizza with my son],” Pankaj Kapur shot back. But no avail. The public was, of course, responding to Pankaj Kapur’s iconic role of Detective Karamchand, and his love for gajar, in the 1980s, on Doordarshan.

Father-son had to eventually rush out of Nirula’s. Shahid told his dad, who was visiting him from Bombay then, to never take him out again! “By virtue of distance, the interaction between him and me was anyway limited.”

Shahid’s parents had separated/divorced, when he was quite young. He was then growing up in Delhi, with his mother, Neelima Azeem, and his maternal grandparents, who were both journalists with the Russian publication, Sputnik.

Sasha, that’s the “ghar ka naam” his grandparents gave him—and that his tribe of fans, self-named Shanatics, call Shahid by—is also a common Russian name, he points out.

It was only when he turned 10, that Shahid also moved to Bombay to be with his mom, a trained classical/Kathak dancer, who was looking at a career in acting.

Shahid himself was one of the top dancers at Shiamak Davar’s dance academy—moving up from the back rows, at dance performances, to the front row, and eventually becoming a trainer at the institute, “which is how it works at Shiamak’s school; you have to prove yourself, every step of the way.”

In fact, if you notice closely, you can find Shahid dancing in the group in Subhash Ghai’s Taal (1999), even Yash Chopra’s Dil Toh Paagal Hai (1997). On stage, he was ecstatic to be “moving right behind Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, at popular award shows.” By 16, Shahid says, he was already earning enough to manage without pocket money from home, “even help out with the household income.”

A picture, from a trivia night, we show Shahid, is of him with actor Ayesha Takia. They’re both such lovely children, posing with coffee mugs to the TV screen. Shahid and Ayesha were the OG: “I’m a Complan boy, she’s a Complan girl!”

He laughs, “Ayesha was a really big [child] star at the time. We had to wait for her to turn up on the set, while I got my solo shots done!” But these were “one-off appearances on screen, because I was a cute kid, and someone or the other saw and cast me.” His mom was clear she didn’t want him to get full-time with commercial/advertising work still.

Cut to: 2003. Which is when I first met Shahid, seated quietly at the reception area of the mid-day newspaper office, in Lower Parel. A publicist had called to check if I might be free to say hi to a young kid he’d brought along. I was a young recruit/intern type at that office myself.

Having stepped out for a minute as a favour to the publicist, you could see other people quizzically wondering who this boy in their midst was. They had seen him somewhere, just not sure where.

“Back then, before there was social media, it used to take years for you to reach out to people. Now, it can happen in weeks and months,” Shahid recalls. The exact date for that first meet-up is not hard to figure. Shahid says his debut film, as lead, the teenage romcom, Ken Ghosh’s Ishq Vishk, released on May 9, 2003.

On that Friday, he’d excitedly gone over to Bombay’s Sterling cinema to watch himself on the big screen for the first time: “Between noon, and when the film finished, while I had just been around doing nothing, the people’s perception of me had totally changed. Barricades were put up. I was too young, at 23—which from an exposure point of view, is very different from how 23-year-olds are, now. And I thought, oh, wow, is this what stardom is?”

That ‘media round’ must’ve taken place a couple of days after. Which is almost exactly 20 years since, that we’re recording the episode of Sit with Hitlist, at the mid-day office again (this time in Bandra East).

Only that Shahid is full of confident banter that’s hard to reproduce in text—he’s a major Bollywood star (with over 50 releases to his credit). Having been through a “turbulent journey, of ups and downs”, and indeed a cracker, eclectic career—over those two decades.

Starting out as the ‘chocolate boy’ romantic lead (Ishq Vishk to Jab We Met), graduating to a more action/masala hero (Bloody Daddy, his last release), and even layered parts, whether on the big screen (Kaminey to Kabir Singh), or OTT platforms/series (Farzi).

Even at the beginning of his stint, young Shahid never introduced himself as son of the great Pankaj Kapur. We might have seen him differently. It was a conscious, self-respecting call he had taken—of making it on his own.

For four years, Shahid remembers, between age 18 and 22, he’d simply been incessantly screen-testing for parts: “I like the word ‘struggler’, they use [only] for aspiring actors. It’s true. It’s a life full of rejections. Four years means about 1,200 days—and I would have easily given about 200 auditions.”

None of those films apparently made anybody’s career, so he’s glad for it. One of which, Shahid says, he rejected himself—N Chandra’s Style (2001), because he was clear, even at that age, that he would debut only as the solo-lead.

It’s another matter, he says, that once Ishq Vishk did well, commercially—he was considered too young for producers to cast opposite existing, established female leads: “They’d rattle out names of three-four popular, female stars, and say, ‘You’ll look like a kid with them! Where’s your ‘mardaangi’ [manliness]? There was no work for my age-bracket, and for the way I looked.”

Also, he submits, there was a perception in Bollywood at the time, that a star was born, at best, only once every half a decade: “And Hrithik [Roshan] had already become huge [with Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai] in 2000. Vivek Oberoi quickly followed [with Company] in 2002. So, apparently [by law of averages], I didn’t stand a chance!”

Of course, all these rules are assumptive. They fail in the face of public choice, which is impossible to predict. Another such rule I point out to Shahid is how, when it comes to a loyal female following—the credibility built from a particular film cements it so much for a male lead sometimes, it can easily lead last them a lifetime.

Take Ryan Gosling, for instance. Take The Notebook (2004) out of his filmography. And he wouldn’t garner half the female fans that’s stuck around him since. Likewise, with Shah Rukh Khan, and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). The connect is irreversible. The persona sustains. I wonder if it’s the same relationship with the female demographic that Shahid attained with Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met (2007), first. He says, “I know Jab We Met gets a lot of credit [as it should]. But let’s not forget Vivah [2006]. It was a small-budget film—by the legendary [producers] Barjatyas’ standards.”

“Their [more expensive film, with modern sensibilities] Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon had just failed. Sooraj [Barjatya] and his father [Raj Kumar Barjatya] were planning to do a movie, with new actors, to test their original, traditional lower middle-class audiences/sensitivities. Vivaah is the last Indian movie to do a ‘silver jubilee’ (25-week run in theatres),” Shahid claims. 

Audiences like me, of course, remember him more for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Kaminey (2009)—decidedly from the dark side of the moon, which was as diametrically a U-turn for his onscreen image.

We wonder how different could it be to be on a Barjatya set, over Bhardwaj’s: “Chalk and cheese. Vishal doesn’t like anything sweet. He’d keep asking me to go ‘kamina’. Sooraj would want me to throw way all city [slicker] influences, and be sweet. It’s schizophrenic [to be on both sets]!”

As for Imtiaz Ali, Shahid recalls, “He was a new director, when he came to me. The first thing that struck me was how good-looking he was, himself, [lost] in his dreamy thoughts. Then the fact that he narrated out of a bound script, which wasn’t common. Back then, you heard a 30 to 40-minute narration that the director would then develop, if you said yes [to it].

“The script had ‘Geet’ written on it. I asked him, ‘What does this mean?’ He said that’s the heroine’s name. I told him, ‘The next time you go to a hero—don’t go with a script with the heroine’s name on it!’

The next time, he came to me with the same script, he had ‘The Train’ written on it,” Shahid laughs.

Eventually they settled on Jab We Met, because big daddy Pankaj Kapur came up with the title over dinner: “I was telling him about how I want an English-Hindi mixed title, and what the story was about.

He said, call it Jab We Met.” Which was one of the titles entered into a public poll held by a newspaper. “The other was Bhatinda Express. The third one I don’t recall. People picked Jab We Met!”

As for his female following—evidenced from the fact that this conversation itself is being recorded with an all-women audience—Shahid attributes much to his more recent, by far the biggest hit of his career, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh (2019), as well.

The film was a scene-by-scene remake of Arjun Reddy in Telugu, by the same director. So Shahid knew exactly what he was walking into—the part of a drug-addled abusive boyfriend, that remains his most controversial yet. So much so that it’s been four years, and he feels the need to defend it still.

He says, “There were so many people refusing to accept that people are liking the film. I was like, ‘Arey bhai, logon ko acchi lag rahi hai, tum log baithe ho apni [high] chair mein—suggesting, how dare you like the film? Well, accept it.”

He’s also willing to engage on the criticism. Which is perhaps not that people were refusing to acknowledge the commercial numbers/footfalls. But that the film was about the sort of character, who may exist in real life, surely. But who was instead being lauded as a hero of sorts. That was the issue that some people may have had with arguably a misogynist subject.

Shahid disagrees, “Well, Kabir slaps the girl [Kiara Advani]. She slaps him back. But when he slaps her, it is so shocking that it stays with you, and it disturbs you, right? Everything that happens to him after in his life, is a downward spiral. Until the last moment when somehow, the girl agrees to be with him! He is a complete mess. A very cinematic character. It is like Taxi Driver, or Scarface.”

The deranged Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) in Taxi Driver ultimately kills himself, though. “Kabir Singh is actually about how everyone should get a second chance. In love, who hasn’t messed up? And if you see it, right from the promo—at no point is it being said that he is a great guy.”

“I’m nothing like him. But as an actor, it’s my job to play different characters. You don’t have to like him. You should like my performance. He’s not the hero. He’s the protagonist.”

Which can be said of Shahid’s equally messed up, Punjabi hip-hop star, Tommy Singh, from Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab (2016). What did he find in common between both the characters?

“Nothing, besides that they are both Singhs,” Shahid laughs. “There is a scene [in Udta Punjab], where Tommy says that he’s never done anything for anyone else. And that he must [for Alia Bhatt’s character]. He’s been completely self-centred. Which is how he’s different from Kabir, who gives it all [for his love]. And she’s nice enough to have him back. Love stories must end with a note of hope.”

The other thing common between Tommy and Kabir is, of course, that they are both substance abusers, isn’t it? “Yes.” Played by an actor, who’s a sworn vegan, and teetotaler! It’s something you don’t associate with movie-stars still. “You can call me boring, I don’t mind,” Shahid smiles.

The other thing unusual for a movie star is getting into an arranged marriage, which is what Shahid made as a life-decision, when he married young Mira Rajput, in 2015.

“Well, if you’d asked me then, I’d have said arranged marriages don’t make sense to me, either. But it happened [organically].” He says they met through family: “We were part of the same spiritual group that I was obviously aware of. She was all of 20 years old. I was 34. I was a little embarrassed [about that].

“But I was really looking for someone who could understand both aspects of my life—the spiritual side, and that I’m an actor [a public figure]. She was genuinely interested in figuring me out as a person. And you can tell, when these things are real. She was not affected [by my profession].”

The first time they got on the phone, Shahid remembers, they spoke for seven hours straight. He knew he’d found the one. He feels the same way about her family, that he treats as his own: “They’re very classy, and sorted people.”

During the two years of the pandemic, Shahid says, he stayed over with his in-laws’ throughout, in a place called Dera, in Punjab: “We had reached there, just three days before the lockdown got announced.”

A few years back, Shahid had recounted to us a trigger point on this aspect of his life. He’d been single for a while. He was returning home, alone, having had won the Filmfare Award for Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider (2014).

That big night, he slept with his statuette. Acknowledging a thing amiss, that he must do something about: “I felt the need for a companion. But even then, I didn’t know I’d find a perfect life-partner. It’s tough.”

Up until then, you could describe Shahid as ‘seriously monogamous’: “I had always been that guy in my 20s—in long, settled relationships.” The other aspect that early success in showbiz thankfully affords the young is a rich, rockstar life, when you’re merely in the 20s. Sports stars are similarly privileged. I’m sure that must’ve been a legit high, before he decided to proverbially settle down.

“It’s a stupid high,” Shahid explains. “So, I’d go and buy myself a fancy sports car, and then I would feel like, ‘Why did I do this? Now, I am broke, again!’ You’re a little stupid in your 20s—making stupid choices, and then you blame other things. When I look back, I’m like, ‘Okay, I should have made better choices, I would have been more comfortable, yar!’”

Which is to say, “I also didn’t have time for anything—too busy holding on to my position [professionally], working on the set 240 days of the year; let alone promoting my films thereafter.”

How about dating the hottest women in Bollywood, though—surely that’s a great perk of being a star into only life’s second decade, when most others are busy moving up from the low rank/station, attempting a half-decent living!

Shahid isn’t particularly impressed/nostalgic by that reminiscence: “See, at the end of the day, you are dating good-looking women. But you are also considered desirable, and good-looking, right?

“So, it is not something that you are getting three levels above your own league! I mean, there were enough women interested in me as well, right?” Spoken truly with that feisty swag of a 20-something!

Looks apart, going by talent from pedigree alone—as a star performer, doubtlessly, Shahid has picked up his dancing skills from the mother, and acting prowess from the father. He’s quick to point out here,

“I was more happy about getting my hair from my mom, and acting chops from dad! I was like, ‘Dad, I don’t want your hair!’

“He was semi-bald at 30, and he used to keep messing with me saying, ‘I’m an actor, I can play all kinds of characters. Abhi toh tu hero ban gaya hai, agar tere baal udd gaye toh tujhe kaam hi nahi milega [You’ve become a star. Now if you lose your hair, you’ll get no work!].’ He used to mess with me, dude!”

Much as the father and son couldn’t have had a more separate career graph, from the looks of it, Shahid did indeed imbibe the ambition of gaining respect as an actor from Pankaj Kapur. It’s part of his natural training.

“I’d seen all my father’s film, growing up—whether that be Rui Ka Bojh [1997] or Ek Doctor Ki Maut [1990]. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro [1983] is, of course, one of my favourite films ever.”

The two collaborated most ambitiously as actor-director, in fact. Wherein Pankaj Kapur debuted as filmmaker with Mausam (2011), starring Shahid in the lead. They’d produced the film as well—charting a story as wide in scale as The Gone with the Wind, no less.

This was around the time, Shahid says, that he’d himself gone through a makeover, in terms of how he’d go about his career goals.

“I was done with walking into a set, being given dialogues to perform right there, and carrying on. I wanted to approach films with a sense of commitment, and had chosen to work in one project a year.” Which is the time and energy he spent on Mausam, along with his father, who spent over year and half on it.

“But we realized, that’s not how everyone else works. And so, while the film was in production, others had moved on. We were finding it hard to match dates [with cast/crew]. Even when I saw the film’s final cut, I knew this was not going to land [well]. It wasn’t the film that my father had envisioned.” Mausam bombed at the box-office, causing a career setback for Shahid, to start with.

One of the things, it appears, that Shahid regrets about stardom is the sort of time it takes to finally get a hang of the system: “By the time you know exactly what’s going on, you’ve already lost eight to 10 years. When you come from a [mainstream] film family, on the other hand, you’ve experienced much, up, close and personal, already.” That’s the advantage, he says, his half-brother, young Ishaan Khatter, has.

Having grown up under the wings of Shahid: “He’s watched me and my choices closely, and always had an opinion on it. For instance, he wouldn’t like me in a [Dil Bole] Hadippa, but totally love me in Kaminey. As an elder brother, you sort of become the guy riding the motorcycle, with him on the back seat!”

Having seen all his films, it would be fair to suggest some of Shahid’s early script-sense could be befuddling, at best. For instance, I point out, what could have made him sign up for a pic like Paathshala (2010), that I remember wondering the same, even while watching it: “That was a friend who asked me to give him seven days of my life, and he badly needed it.” All choices have a reason.

Consider Prabhu Dheva’s R… Rajkumar (2013), and Rajkumar Santoshi’s Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013), that Shahid hit the screens with, soon after Mausam hadn’t worked, theatrically.

“That was [me seeking] commercial success. If you’re not successful, you actually have no power to make any choices. So, you just have to get successful, first. It’s simple. R… Rajkumar, in fact, did well. And Phata Poster did not.”

From a film industry POV, he looks at movies very differently, Shahid concedes. Namely, you need films of all palette to march on as an industry: “What I don’t get is people who can only make dosas saying, that those who eat burgers, are no good. That’s not how it works. I stay away from such people.”

And it’s not that commercial success, or massive footfalls, is the only criterion, surely. Soon after the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s blockbuster, Padmaavat (2018), there were news reports suggesting Shahid wasn’t pleased with his own presence in the pic, along with Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, who evidently stole the show. Was there any merit to these assertions?

He candidly admits, “It’s true. Everyone was lovely in that film. And I don’t want to get into details. But I kept thinking, ‘Why did I do this film?’ I had no perspective. And I don’t want to blame anybody.”

Which also relates to insecurities that come naturally with an actor’s mercurial job? To take another example of published reports, there was one about how Shahid didn’t get along with co-star Kangana Ranaut, during the making of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon (2017). True?

“Not true. I got along fine with Kangana. She’s a fine actor.” Long pause. Okay, that is a long pause. “What do I say? You’re not asking me anything else. You’re talking about insecurities, looking in from the outside into an actor’s life. But it may not be [those] insecurities. There are so many things that can be there, if first of all, there is a problem!”

Which is fair. And being a star, as against a professional actor alone, inevitably involves media scrutiny—as part of the job, even if an occupational hazard, on occasion. Surely, over two decades of being right at the centre of Bombay showbiz, has come with its own potholes.

The one story I remember concerning Shahid, and in fact mid-day—shortly after we met first at the newspaper’s office reception—were a series of paparazzi pictures that the tabloid had published in 2004, starring Shahid and his girlfriend then, taken at a Juhu nightclub, Rain.

Those pictures were clicked by a bunch of kids randomly hanging around in the nightclub, with a digital camera. There were no feature-phones with cameras at the time.

Those juvenile delinquents arrived at the mid-day office, demanding Rs 500 for the set of blurry but innocuous images/video of Shahid, kissing, in love, evidently. Unmindful of possible minders around.

I wonder what that did to Shahid, once those pictures appeared, in what became a big, salacious, tabloid story. Which was hardly a big deal though, if you look at it objectively, rather than voyeuristically.

“Of course, it was a big deal. Let’s be honest—putting out pictures like that would get you a lot of eyeballs. That’s the honest truth of it. It’s okay. You know, we all take it with a pinch of salt. But what was your question, again?”

The question was, what did he feel about it, when that happened, then? I don’t think he’s spoken about it in all these years.

“Oh, I was destroyed at the time. I was just 24 years old, a kid. I felt my privacy had been invaded, and I could do nothing to protect it. I was a mess. At that age, especially—because you don’t even know your own feelings. You are figuring out how to be with a girl you are dating. And in the middle of all that, this happens…”

What’s changed with stardom and the media landscape since, of course, is that practically everyone is with a smart phone, making videos, pictures, selfies in public. Shahid, 42, reasons, “Now, you are aware that [a paparazzi snap] like that is 100 percent going to happen. At that time, we were caught off guard by it.

“So, that is like an informed devil, as opposed to an uninformed-devil scenario, then. You at least know, ‘Yeh toh hone wala hi hai. Also, ab toh meri shaadi ho gayi hai, bacche ho gaye hain (Now, I’m married with kids). Nobody is interested in those things about me. They have other 24-year-olds to focus on.”

Shahid Kapoor’s journey from being the quintessential chocolate hero to an artiste with a penchant for playing layered characters has been interesting. The actor, who recently completed two decades in the industry, made his OTT debut as a con artist in Raj and DK’s series Farzi.

Ask Shahid if he is spoilt for choice when it comes to good content coming his way, and he laughs out loud as he says, “I wish that was true. I don’t think I am spoilt for choice; it’s just a perception. In fact, I find it challenging to find good content,” adding, “I participate in every possible meeting to see whether something good is coming my way. So, yes, it is a struggle to find good content. I am constantly on the lookout for it, and that’s why you learn to value it when something good comes your way. A case in point is Farzi.”

Shahid, at this stage of his career, is realizing and experiencing the truth behind his father, renowned actor Pankaj Kapur’s advice, which was — the day he begins acting, in the true sense of the word, the way he looks at and approaches his craft will change drastically. The actor, in a conversation with Bombay Times, gets candid about his craft, the highs and challenges he faced in his career spanning 20 years. Excerpts.

Shahid, who has been exploring all avenues there are as an actor, doesn’t like to get drawn into comparisons of any kind, even if that means discussing different entertainment platforms.

Ask him whether OTT has been more liberating than movies as an artiste for him, and he replies, “I don’t think there is more merit in either of the two platforms. Movies have their own space, and the same goes for OTT. I think it is a privilege that I can have a presence on both platforms; both have their own advantages and unique appeal. Having said that, I feel that while conceiving a product, one should be sure of where one wants to showcase it. I think choosing to showcase something on a platform different from what you had envisioned can sometimes be counterproductive.”

Shahid has now come to be associated as an actor who is drawn towards complex and flawed characters. While the actor acknowledges the shift in his career, he denies that his inclination for complex characters was an overnight wake-up call.

“The desire to do something complex and challenging was always there, but I was not offered those roles earlier. You can only choose from the choices that are in front of you,” he says, adding, “I feel as you become more secure and settled as an actor, you want to take up new challenges. Of course, playing characters that are layered, complex and sometimes flawed is exciting, as it is more challenging to get the audience to relate to them or feel compassion towards them. It’s harder than playing a guy who is just cute and sweet, which gets boring after a while. Some enjoy doing it for their whole careers, but I am not one of them.”

As a versatile artiste, he always looks for diverse characters and genres and finds the process liberating. He recalls, “My dad (Pankaj Kapur) once told me, ‘Beta, abhi tum kar lo yeh sab – cute boy, romantic and all, par jis dinn tum acting karna shuru kar doge na, tab aisa lagega ki sher ke muh mein khoon lag gaya hai, phir tumhe baar baar waise hi kirdaar karne ka mann karega.’ It has turned out to be just the way he said. After having worked for 20 years, I understand what he meant. I am happy about exploring diverse genres; every genre has its own appeal, but of course, the actor in me needs to feel satisfied and challenged.”

He adds that there is a risk in overdoing only complex roles. He says, “I won’t be doing only complex roles. I have to do different things. If I keep repeating myself in that zone, it will become cliché. The idea is not to become a cliché, and that is what I intend to do keep changing every time.”

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha is working on a long-format series based on the 1999 Kandahar hijacking, we have exclusively learnt. The drama will follow the events that unfolded between December 24 and 31. From what we have gathered, the series is yet to go on floors, however, the makers have picked their cast members.

Actor Vijay Varma, in his first-ever collaboration with the Anek (2022) director, will be seen playing a central character, as will actor Pankaj Kapur, who also stars in Sinha’s Bheed, which releases this year. Actors Naseeruddin Shah and Mandira Bedi, too, have pivotal roles, details of which are yet to be known. The series, currently in pre-production, will soon go on floors and is expected to stream on a leading OTT giant.

The hijacking of flight IC-814, is one of the most tragic terrorist incidents in history, where 176 passengers were held hostage by five Pakistani militants. Several projects have been made on the episode, including the 2003 film Zameen and the Kunal Shivdasani-directed Hijack (2008), as well as the 2010 Malayalam film Kandahar, starring Mohanlal.

Actor Ratna Pathak Shah, who has been part of critically acclaimed films such as Mandi (1983) and Mirch Masala (1987), says that besides being part of the commercial cinema space, star system also penetrated the art film circuit back in the day. And that, she believes, is what kept her from working frequently: “Our filmmakers weren’t adventurous when it came to casting. They always chose the ones who grabbed eyeballs. In art cinema, it was all about Naseeruddin Shah (husband), Om Puri, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil.”

Shah rues the dearth of opportunities for her other contemporaries, too: “It was much later that (actors) Pavan Malhotra and Pankaj Kapur got the parts they deserved. Supriya (Pathak; actor and sister) never got the parts she deserved. And I was just not looked at, maybe because I was Naseer’s wife, and they thought I was not interested in working. Thankfully, that’s done with and dusted.”

The Thappad (2020) actor heaves a sigh of relief, as she’s getting to work at a time when most people have retired. “My skill has improved in the last 20 years. Maybe that’s why I’m getting the kind of roles that you see me doing,” Shah ends.

There are certain characters that speak to you in a way others rarely can. When Jersey came Shahid Kapoor’s way, the central character of Arjun — a defeated man who revives his love for cricket, at the behest of his son — left a lasting impression on him. He says that the protagonist’s quiet passion drew him in.

“I could relate to him strongly. In him, I got the right vessel to [pour] my emotions into. I have felt that success, big love [from the audience] and a wide-reaching film have come to me after years of waiting. We all have fire [in our belly]. There are certain people whose fire is dampened over time, and then, there are those whose fire keeps burning. I fall in that category, as does Arjun.”

A remake of Gowtam Tinnanuri’s 2019 Telugu film of the same name, Jersey sees Kapoor sharing screen space with actor-father Pankaj Kapur. Holding your own in front of the veteran actor is no mean feat. “It’s scary as hell to share a frame with him,” smiles Kapoor, before narrating an incident. “After a scene, Gowtam walked up to dad and told him it’s a good shot, [but looked despondent]. I asked Gowtam if everything was okay, and he said, ‘Your dad is a great actor, but my story is about your character. So, if you don’t do well, the audience will only be looking at him.’ I told him that I will try my best,” he laughs. 

Kapoor’s last release Kabir Singh (2019), though a runaway success, wasn’t without its share of problems. There was much debate about the film’s glorification of toxic masculinity. In the past few years, there has been an increased awareness among artistes on the messaging of films. Has it made him scrutinise his roles harder?

“My concern is with the lack of authenticity or unfounded behaviour [in a character]. I never set out to coach people in societal behaviour. An actor’s role is to honestly represent life. I never try to justify my characters because I have played [parts] that are problematic or troubled. But cinema is a reflection of life. We are merely saying that these things happen. Whether it’s right or wrong, you decide. I think the junta gets it; the over-intellectual minds tend to chew on things a bit too much.”