Page 25 - FEB 2022
P. 25
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHAHID KAPOOR
24 FEBRUARY FEBRUARY 25
Son of veteran Pankaj Kapoor and his first wife,
actor-dancer Neelima Azim, Shahid is no stranger
to the tinsel world of Bollywood. Gifted with boyish
good looks and an impish smile, Shahid became
an instant heart throb with his very first film Ishq
Vishk, that went on to become a sleeper hit. Shahid
won his first Filmfare award as best debutant. He
has three Filmfare awards to date. Kapoor has
trained under Naseeruddin Shah and Satyadev
Dubey for developing his acting skills.
Shahid started his career doing ads and as a
background dancer in several movies. One can
catch a glimpse of Shahid in several movies such
as Dil to Pagal hai and Taal. He learnt dance at the
Shiamak Davar Institute of dance. Besides dance,
his body of work is worth a mention. Let’s look at
five of his topmost roles:
Jab We Met – The changes that he undergoes
from a sad, self-centered and suicidal young
entrepreneur to a chirpier young man after meeting level!
Geet (Kareena) and inspiring her back when
she becomes depressed and winning her love Udta Punjab- Kapoor plays the part of a drug
ultimately, are brought about so subtly by Kapoor. using pop star. One cannot believe that Shahid is
A must watch for those cozy moments. a teetotaler when we watch him unleash as Gabru
the popstar. Although the film suffered under the
Haider – Vishal Bharadwaj’s third installation hands of censors, this is one of those films which
of Shakespearean trilogy after Maqbool and bring to light the drug endemic in Punjab.
Omkara, Haider is a modern-day adaptation of the
Bard’s tragedy, Hamlet. With a shaven head and a Kabir Singh- Kapoor plays a self-destructing,
Kashmiri dialect to the boot, Shahid’s performance abusive, alcoholic and yet a brilliant medical
as Haider who returns from the University to a student and then doctor. The film, a remake of Arjun
politically insurgent Srinagar, Kashmir to find Reddy was criticized for its misogynistic theme, but
his father, a doctor missing and his mother in Kapoor as always lived the role. The film however
relationship with his uncle is one of his very best. went on to become that year’s second highest
By his own admission this is his toughest role yet. grossing film.
Kaminey -Bharadwaj casts Shahid in a dual role Kapoor is a pure vegetarian and a complete
as twin brothers who are as different as they can teetotaler. He loves travel and listening to music
be. The backdrop is Mumbai’s underworld and dislikes mushrooms! He believes in the adage,
Shahid aces as the twin brothers, one with a stutter ‘You are what you eat’. As we await the release
and the other with a lisp. For the movie he even of his latest film ‘Jersey’, a remake of the Telugu
created a different physique for each brother film by the same name, we wish him a very happy
besides consulting with speech pathologists and birthday and say, ’Dil Maange More”!!
psychologists. That’s taking dedication to another
DesiPages DFW | February 2022 VOL 36 | 25

