Shahid Kapoor On Why He Took Up The Role Of Kabir Singh: Kabir-like Craziness Exists Within Me

Shahid Kapoor recently made a comeback to the romantic genre with Amit Joshi and Aradhana Sah's Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljhaa Jiya. Before this, he was seen in the films Bloody Daddy (2023), Jersey (2022), and Kabir Singh (2019). While Bloody Daddy and Jersey didn't create much of an impact, his film Kabir Singh despite becoming a box office hit received massive backlash for its misogynistic and sexist storyline. The actor too was criticised for accepting this role in the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial film. After five years, Shahid opened up on why he chose to play the role of Kabir Singh and the factors that drove him to take the decision. 

Shahid Kapoor reveals why he chose to play a complicated character like Kabir Singh 

At Forbes India Leadership Awards, Shahid who is known for taking up versatile roles such as in Haider, Padmaavat, and Kaminey among others claimed that he chooses to play characters that “represent different aspects of human behaviour, of society, people who are from different backgrounds, whose brain and hearts work differently, who look different and feel different.” He concluded that he ‘chases’ such roles. 

Talking specifically about his role in Kabir Singh role, the actor said, “There is a little crazy inside me somewhere, so that Kabir exists within me, deep down.” He argued that he has such ‘crazy streaks’ like Kabir Singh rooted inside him which is why he is drawn to such complex characters. 

When Shahid Kapoor opened up about Kabir Singh getting mixed response

Previously, during the promotions of Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Ujha Jiya, Shahid Kapoor opened up on the mixed response Kabir Singh received upon its release in 2019. The film grossed over ₹379 crore and became the second-highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2019. It is the highest-grossing solo-lead release, however, the movie received mixed reviews from the critics. 

At a promotional interview, Shahid was asked if anything would change his mind not to accept the role of Kabir Singh if he could given a time machine. To this, the actor shared that he would change nothing. He continued, "I'm not here to convince you to like a character. I'm here to be the character. That is what cinema should be. It should be able to create conversation, it should be able to represent society honestly, so we actually sit down and talk about it." Adding to it, Shahid said that his job was to play the character while everybody else's job was to decide what they felt about it. “Creative freedom has to be there.”