Shahid Kapoor who is the son of actors Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azeem, recently shared his journey as an 'outsider' in Bollywood on Neha Dhupia’s popular chat show. Despite coming from a family background, Kapoor shared that he had to carve his path into the Hindi film industry without milking on his parents' connections and even faced bullies along the way.

Shahid Kapoor acknowledges that Bollywood is influenced by star power

Reflecting on his father's industry background, Kapoor highlighted the disparity in opportunities. He said that only 'stars, superstars, and directors' have significant influence and leaves 'character actors' like himself at a disadvantage.

Discussing the industry's dynamics, Shahid said that there are very few opportunities for outsiders and attributes his success solely to his hard work and talent. He criticised the trend of favouring insiders or individuals with industry affiliations and claimed that it is the declining quality of Hindi cinema.

When Shahid Kapoor was bullied

Recalling his transition from Delhi to Mumbai, Kapoor recalled feeling like an outsider due to his distinct accent. He detailed at No Filter Neha, “I didn't have the qualities to be a campy person (part of a Bollywood camp). I was from Delhi and came to Bombay (Mumbai) and I was not accepted in my class. I was the outsider because my accent was different and I was badly treated for a long period of time.”

Upon entering Bollywood, Kapoor faced similar challenges in the industry's dynamics. He said, “I came into this industry and realised ye toh school ke tarah hi hai (This is just like school). Outsiders are not accepted easily here. They have a big issue with how you manage to come in here. So, for many years I dealt with that. I don't like this campy thing. But that doesn't mean you diss other people and try to put other people down or close the doors to other people.”