Actor Shahid Kapoor may have won accolades for his various performances, but he says the compliment that comes from his father and Bollywood veteran Pankaj Kapur is what he looks forward to.
“He (Pankaj Kapur) is very honest to the art (films) and he doesn’t say things till he actually means it. So I wait for his compliments, I am very happy that he liked my work in ‘Rangoon’.
“I have to do better as an actor, that’s the attempt I make. So when my father says something it makes me very happy.”
Shahid reveals that a screening of ‘Rangoon’ was arranged by director Vishal Bhardwaj, especially for his father.
“Vishal sir has a long standing relationship with my father. So before showing it (film) to the cast, he shared it with people whose opinion he wanted. So he had called my dad,” says the 35-year-old actor, who was not invited but still he went for the screening.
“Saif and Kangana were not there as they did not know anything about this screening, I knew because my dad had told me about it. I was very excited to see his (Pankaj’s) response.”
The ‘Kaminey’ star got emotional when his father praised his performance in Bhardwaj’s period romance drama.
“He just walked out and looked at Vishal sir and told him ‘it’s difficult to recognise my son in the film’. He said ‘I don’t see Shahid Kapoor in the film I see Nawab Malik’ (his character).”
“It’s a huge compliment as my father doesn’t say things often. He said it during ‘Haider’. So for me it was a very emotional moment.”
‘Rangoon’ is the third collaboration between Bhardwaj and Shahid, who have so far had hundred per cent track record when it comes to critical acclaim and business aspects of their previous ventures – ‘Kaminey’ and ‘Haider’.
“Every film you do, you want it to do well, and ‘Rangoon’ is no different. We just want people to feel that ‘Rangoon’ is a good film. Kangana and Saif are great co-stars to have. ‘Rangoon’ is a good film and if it’s a good film, it will do well.”
The ‘Jab We Met’ star says ‘Rangoon’ was a difficult film since it was was shot in extreme locations, like the hilly terrain in Arunachal Pradesh.
For Shahid, the intention is to make a good film and he has been concentrating on doing qualitative movies.
“In the last three-four years I have done films like ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Haider’, ‘Rangoon’ and then I have ‘Padmavati’.
I want to do films that are qualitative. If the film is loved and appreciated, it builds a certain trust in audience.”
At a time when it’s all about box office collections, Shahid is not keen on the number game.
“If you run after numbers you lose credibility, focus and purpose, because you are just running after numbers. The attempt is to do qualitative work. I am trying to build that equity where audience will think I do only quality work.”
PTI