Reigning toast of the town-Shahid Kapur

Tanu Talwar

Piscean, Delhiite, scintillating dancer, loves his mom’s cooking, and to top it all, blessed with amazingly good looks. Shahid Kapur with all his modesty comes across as a boy next door. But there is a strong man behind this soft exterior. A man who is not ashamed to admit his fears and blushes every time he is compared to any of the industry’s biggies, Shahid has stood tall and has faced both the good and the bad with equal endurance. From the lanky and confused teenager of Ishq Vishq to the mature, sophisticated Aditya Kashyap of Jab We Met, Shahid Kapur has come a long way as he turns 26 today. The man of the moment who is now luckily single has turned into every girl’s dream date-Prince Charming owing to his pleasantly surprising performance in his by far the most appreciated role in JWM till date. Born to immensely talented actor Pankaj Kapoor and acclaimed danseuse and actress Neelima Azmi, Shahid is an amalgamation of the best of his parents’ genes. Though his parents divorced when he was only three, Shahid maintains that he was not affected much by the news, owing to the love and affection he received from his grandparents, "Thanks to the care and concern of my grandparents, I was never so affected by my parents separation. My mum and I lived with them in Delhi’s Press Enclave (Saket). My nana Anwar Azim, was the editor of Sputnik brought out by Urdu Blitz", he says. Starting Out Young Shahid began romancing the lens right from his childhood. After being featured in the famous Complan ad alongside Ayesha Takia, this Complan boy was spotted next in several commercials, the most initial of them being the Pepsi super starrer ad featuring Shahrukh, Rani and Kajol. Thereafter, he was spotted in a few videos and commercials. The famous song of ‘Aankhon Mein Tera hi Chehra’ featured him and starlet Hrishita Bhatt, whom he was later linked with. Though the actor made his formal debut in teen love story Ishq Vishq Pyar Vyar, the world caught the first glimpse of this superstar in the making in Subhash Ghai’s Taal, dancing as one of the background dancers in Shaimak Davar’s troupe. His performance in his first flick Ishq Vishq Pyar Vyar got him mixed reviews. The story goes that Shahid was initially rejected for the role. The then aspiring actor took this rejection seriously and made severe changes in his looks by pumping up some iron. When the director met him at a party he decided to give Shahid another shot and soon he was playing the lead role in the movie. The film fared well at the box office and made Shahid an instant hit with young girls. The film got him not only the best debutant male award in various award functions but also sparked staunch comparisons with the ‘badshahs of filmistan’. One Film Wonder? These comparisons were however, extremely short-lived and Shahid was soon looked upon as a one-film wonder. The problem was that Shahid who was 22 looked much younger than his age and it was a struggle for directors’ to find heroines, who complimented his boyish looks. A look for which most actors would do anything from cosmetic surgeries to flying in professional trainers apparently became a reason to worry for Shahid. Appearing much younger than his years, the actor was bombarded with the typical teenage love stories. Even with his limited script options he tried to be as experimental as possible taking up a role of a vengeful lover in ‘Fida’ to a confused college boy falling for all three girls in ‘Dil Maange More’. Even though his performance was fairly appreciated, overall his films bombed at the box-office and failed to get even decent reviews. The year 2005 proved to be even more disastrous for the young actor. All his three releases that year crashed one after the other and he was on the verge of being written off as a has-been but that’s when Vivaah happened and things stared to look up. The film despite having no modern gimmicks and an age-old theme did extremely well at the box office. A performance that was applauded by not only the audiences but even his critics earned him best actor nominations in several award ceremonies. I am what I am An actor who is a self confessed underdog has time and again refused to use any shortcuts to fame be it a grand launch movie or pushing his family name on the producers. "My first film did enough and more for me. I could not have asked for a better launch pad. I am a simple guy, usually content. I like to do my work quietly. I am the underdog, I`ve always been that." When most of the star kids were fully capitalizing on the legacy og their fathers and grandfathers and maneuvering good reviews for their bizarre performances, Shahid refused to use his family’s influence in any way to be appreciated. The actor on the contrary underplayed the fact that he even had a family that was into showbiz. Even in the most difficult phases of his career he has stood tall and did not play the family name card. "My parents were always in films but at the same time out of it. Also, there was a part of me that wanted to prove things to myself. I didn`t want to be pushed, I wanted to be chosen." And Jab We Met has done just that. It has been Shahid’s answer to all those critics who went on endlessly about how the man could not pull out a serious role and was only suited for dance and song sequence. The movie became a hit solely by word of mouth and ruled the cinema screens for months. It not only made girls blush but also made their guys jealous of the loving attention Aditya Kashyap was getting from their ladylove. But all was not well in his paradise. Yes, you guessed it right - the most talked about break up in recent times - the Shahid-Kareena split came with the success of JWM. A couple that was so meant to be, made more headlines for their break up than they ever did when together. With the affair lasting for over four years, most fans were anticipating wedding news when they were hit by the ‘we are no longer together’ stance. The news hit the stands even before Jab We Met hit the silver screen. But reverse psychology worked and the real life break up sparked their reel chemistry. Never had the two looked so stunning together. Debutant director Imtiaz Ali even confessed to have feared that his film would be adversely affected by the sensationalized break up. But JMW proved to be an out an out hit. The film had just the right mantra for making a blockbuster and it can be now said that the break up could not have a better timing. No Women No Cry But if love is all roses, Shahid has demonstrated that a break up need not be messy and can be handled with equal panache. Unlike the famous tinsel towns scandalous ending to affairs, where the former lovebirds turn into archrivals and start soiplling the most intimate secrets in public. Shahid has shown commendable composure on the rebound. A man who has been endlessly questioned about his personal life, been at the centre of every gossip column and has been scanned with a microsope every time he is in public eye for a slight emotion of jealously or sadness to give that much needed extra edge to articles, has handles the issue in a most sensible fashion. Issuing no harsh resentful statements, Shahid has behaved in a cordial dignified manner. The actor did not shy away from confessing that the split did hurt him and has gone on record to say, " I hold Kareena in high esteem as an actress. I continue to feel fondly for her. I wish her happiness." However while Kareena has been more than forthcoming, grabbing all the media attention she s been getting these days owing to the famous tattoo ‘Victoria’ errr ‘Kareena’ on Saif’s arm, Shahid has been keeping mum on his personal relationship. Though the actor has been linked with Amrita Rao and recently with Vidya Balan, the industry insiders opine that he is dating someone outside the industry. Ofcourse, Shahid does not want to let the name out. It’s a phrase we all are familiar with Once Smitten twice shy.