I have made mistakes in the past: Shahid Kapoor

First things first. Shahid Kapoor is a brilliant dancer. No comparisons there. He is a talented actor as well. After all, he has the blood of two powerhouse actors – Neelima Azeem and Pankaj Kapur –flowing in his veins. If you are still not convinced, do watch Kaminey. But the fact remains that despite these great credentials, he is still not in the league of the cr?me de la cr?me of the movie industry. We thought of getting the answers straight from the star himself. So after exchanging some warm pleasantries, we quickly got down to business with the ever-affable Shahid. You are finally returning back to 70mm after a long gap. What were you doing while you weren’t busy shooting? Well, I was thinking of how I should be kick-starting my work again. I had a lot of meetings, read a lot of scripts. After Mausam, I was offered about 17 to 18 films. I was offered Shuddh Desi Romance which I didn’t do. So here I was sitting at home, doing nothing and I just hated it. Have you seen how horses gallop as soon as the gates are opened in derby? I was waiting for my gates to open as well. Thankfully, my phase of doing one film a year is over and I have three films now. Do you regret not doing Shuddh Desi Romance? Not at all. I am happy that my next film Phata Poster Nikhla Hero is all set for release now and has shaped up extremely well. You are returning back after a long gap. Do you see Phata Poster Nikhla Hero as your comeback movie? Hmm… See I agree quite some time has passed between my last release and my current one but I wouldn’t term Phata Poster Nikhla Hero as my comeback vehicle. I see this film as a genre that I have never tried before. I did the same with Kaminey which was a different sort of film belonging to a different genre. And I knew then that people will either accept me or reject me at the first instance. It is essential for me to see how people will respond after watching my performance in this film. And so far I am happy as I have been getting more positive reactions. Finally the film will speak for itself. You have all the qualities one needs to be a superstar. Yet success has somehow eluded you. Where do you think you went wrong? I have made mistakes in past like taking some bad decisions and choices. I have never had anybody to guide me in this industry. My father has done art-house kind of films and not much of commercial cinema. He always told me take decisions myself. I had to struggle for two and a half years before I got my first film. My first film had no star cast. The biggest star was Anu Malik who was doing the music of my film. And we were like since Anuji is doing the music the songs will be a hit at least. So I have come right from the lower level. And obviously on your way up you will make mistakes and I have learnt from them. What is the biggest lesson you have learnt? I have learnt that it is more important to focus on people than scripts. It is finally your equation with people that will matter in the longer run. Also I feel that I want to work and satisfy the people that I am working with rather than myself. I have learnt how to connect with people now. I was shy earlier. So do you have a career plan now in mind? Bro, the best thing to do is not to have a plan. As an actor you need to just act well and let other people plan for you. This is what I have learnt. I have made plans in the past which has never worked. Plans only increase your pressure. And actors should be like clay. Ready to be molded in any form We have seen you promote this movie aggressively at colleges, malls and other places. Are you happy with this hectic promotional schedule? Promotion is an attempt to reach out to the audience. See, I am relatively newer as compared to the Khans. Their reach and exposure is much bigger. So for me, it’s more of a need to go out there and tell people about my film because there are people who don’t know me yet. How was it working with Rajkumar Santoshi? Phenomenal. When I was on the sets of KBC with Amitji, the first thing he said was ‘You are lucky to have worked with Rajkumar Santoshi’. This is a director who is highly respected and regarded in the entire industry and every actor who has worked with him has always had very high things about. Everything that I have done in this film is exactly what he wanted me to do. Finally, what should audience expect from Shahid Kapoor this time? A lot of entertainment. My character Vishwas Rao is a wannabe actor who avoids fights because he is afraid that if his face gets injured his career will be over. He is the reluctant action hero. You will see me performing stunts with an element of comedy in it, just like in Jackie Chan movies.