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Birthday love: Shahid Kapoor’s riskiest ventures

Shahid Kapoor has had a big year professionally and personally. Personally Kapoor got married to Mira Rajput Kapoor in 2015 and became father to his first child Misha Kapoor in August 2016. Professionally Kapoor starred in the hard – hitting ‘Udta Punjab’ (2016) as Tommy Singh, a Punjabi musician who is a drug addict and believes he can do what he likes. Kapoor won critical acclaim for his role in the film and has once again proven that he is an actor to watch out for. As Kapoor approaches his birthday, BizAsiaLive.com looks back at his most revolutionary films, which have made him the ever-changing actor in Bollywood.

‘Vivah’ (2006)
Kapoor had a chocolate boy reputation when he first came to Bollywood, playing the hopeless lover in every film. ‘Vivah’ was the epitome of this where Kapoor played Prem, the son of a businessman Harishchandra (Anupam Kher) who decides to arrange his son’s marriage. Prem respects his father’s wishes and meets Poonam (Amrita Rao) and instantly feels attracted to her and agrees to marry her. The film was shot very traditionally with director/writer Sooraj Bharjatya insisting that the film was shot authentically in his vision for Madhupur. Kapoor was impressive as Prem and truly played the softly spoken character with great heart and poise.

‘Kaminey’ (2009)
‘Kaminey’ was Kapoor’s biggest departure from playing the romantic hero in his previous films. In ‘Kaminey’ Kapoor played twin brothers Charlie and Guddu who live in Mumbai and Charlie has a lisp while Guddu stutters. In the aim to gain quick money, Guddu fixes horse races as a bookmaker and works for his youngest brother Mikhail who is hostile to Charlie. ‘Kaminey’ was Kapoor’s grittiest film yet with the director Vishal Bhardwaj having a dark vision for the film. Kapoor had to research his characters and their medical conditions to ensure that they were believable on screen. He also worked hard to change his physique to match the requirements of his characters.

‘Haider’ (2014)
‘Haider’ is a modern day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Hamlet’ and is still seen as Kapoor’s grittiest of characters. Set against the background of Kashmir’s conflicts in 1995, Kapoor played Haider who returns from university to find out why his father has disappeared after being accused of harbouring terrorist. However when he returns, he finds his mother (Tabu) singing and laughing with her brother in law Khurram (Kay Kay Mernon). Confused, Haider goes on a quest to find his father with his childhood sweetheart Arshi (Shraddha Kapoor). The film was described as brave by critics, taking an unflinching look at Kashmir and the troubles it faces. Kapoor’s performance as Haider was praised with him being called the example for other actors in the industry due to his excellence in taking on a character like Haider and making it his own.

‘Udta Punjab’ (2016)
In ‘Udta Punjab’, Kapoor played Tommy Singh, a Punjabi singer who has a lavish lifestyle due to his highly successful music career. Aided by his crew, he indulges in taking cocaine and glorifies drug taking and violence. Due to his frequent bouts of drug taking, he loses his contract and ends up in jail. He meets two of his fans behind bars who tell him that he has inspired them which in turn, Tommy realises that he needs to change his ways due to the influences he has. The film had a lot of issues with the censor board due its vulgarity. However, upon release the film was well reviewed with many being shocked by the dystopia existing in Punjab, depicted by the film.

‘Rangoon’ (2017)
His birthday release of the year, ‘Rangoon’ tells the story of Mary Ann Evans aka Fearless Nadia – Bollywood’s first stunt-woman. Kapoor plays her love interest as Jamadar Nawab Malik and the audience is keen to see his brand new film.

He has proven himself to be a hard working actor, going to great lengths to ensure that his look for the film is kept under wraps.

Shahid Kapoor has got a lot to look forward in the next coming year and we at BizAsiaLive.com are keen to see what his next steps are. We wish him a very happy 35th birthday.