Post `Kaminey`, Shahid wants to surprise again

Mumbai: Fresh from the success of `Kaminey`, Shahid Kapur is looking forward to more "out the box roles" and the actor believes that working with older heroines is not a big deal as long as audience get good cinema."The older heroine paired opposite younger hero theory holds no water in present times. Audiences want to see a good film. If the heroine is one or two years older than her co-star, it is an irrelevant issue," Shahid, who is awaiting his next release `Dil Bole Hadippa` with Rani Mukherjee, told reporters in an interview.

"I want to do films and roles which are challenging and out-of-the-box. Audiences should see me in a different light which they may not be expecting. I want to surprise my audiences," the 27-year-old actor says. Despite his desire to break the mould of `chocolaty hero`, Shahid says he will continue working in love stories because he is liked in such films. "I want to have a mix of every thing. `Kaminey` was an out-of-the-box film. It`s a bigger challenge to convince the audience of something they don`t expect from you. It was a big step for me to do this film and I did it because I have great faith in Vishal Bharadwaj as director," says the actor. Shahid, who started his Bollywood career as a hero with Ken Ghosh`s `Ishq Vishk` in 2003 believes that audiences acceptance has widened his horizon as an actor. "I have got the confidence to do different kinds of films. I have been accepted in a different light," he said. Shahid who plays a sportsperson in `Hadippa` says he is still discovering himself as an actor as the film is different from his other two hits `Kaminey` and `Jab We Met`. The actor plays a cricketer who plays county cricket in England in `Hadippa`. "He comes to India to coach a cricket team. He is physically very fit, talkative but disciplined when on field. I connect with this character because I am very focussed while on sets and when off,I am a regular 28-year-old guy," he says. The actor says the interesting aspect of the movie is his character`s interactions with Veer, the Sikh boy played by Rani Mukherjee. "I am the sophisticated English bred boy while Veer is a thorough Punjabi fellow and both do not understand each other. There was lot of humour in those scenes," say Shahid. "Rani is a complete heroine, is ravishing in Haddipa and looks very convincing playing cricket. She has never made me feel that she is a big star. We were unsure of how we will look together. We surprised ourselves because we make a good screen pair." When asked whether he felt overshadowed by Rani, Shahid said he was not a selfish actor. "I give what the film requires. Insecure people tend to think like that," he said. "Haddipa is an entertainer. It is a young and fun film as the love story is not the central focus. Cricket forms the background of the film," Shahid says. The actor has also started working for the next Yashraj movie, which is being directed by Parmeet Sethi. Shahid has been paired with `Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi` actress Anushka Sharma. "Parmeet`s film produced by Yash Raj is a love story. We have shot in Mumbai and the next schedule will be in the US and Bangkok," he says. The `Vivah` actor is also working in his father, actor Pankaj Kapur`s film, which is a love story and is slated to go on floors end of this year or early next year. "We have not decided on the title and the co-star", he says. The young heartthrob believes that his back to back releases -- `Kaminey`, `Dil Bole Haddipa` and Ken Ghosh`s soon to be released `Chance Pe Dance` have given him an opportunity to work with filmmakers of different sensibilities. "All three were shot at during the same time and it was a learning experience," he adds. Bureau Report