Shahid Kapoor is an actor par excellence. He has dazzled us all with his boy-next-door charm and his impeccable dexterity in acting. He has a fascinating filmography that has been witness to his transformation from Bollywood’s quintessential chocolate boy to the brooding leading man.
Today the dashing arm candy of Mira Rajput and the doting daddy to their little munchkin Misha, he is an unpredictable bundle of talent who has no qualms about experimenting with his roles and image. As the 37-year old awaits the release of the ambitious Padmaavat, let us look back at some of his best movies.
Jab We Met
Now a cult classic and hailed as the best rom-com churned out by Bollywood after DDLJ (Yes, it took that long!), this 2007 film catapulted Shahid to the A-league. Shahid played the role of the somewhat inexpressive but endearing Aditya Kashyap with a sincerity that showed on screen. Whether it was doing the bhangra to the beats of Nagada Nagada or delivering the most inspiring speech as the CEO of his company, Shahid played the character with a restrained flair that made the audience and the industry wake up to his genius.
Kaminey
Shahid had a blast playing two of the most author-backed roles of his career in this 2009 film. Yes two, because Shahid had a double role in this film. Director Vishal Bhardwaj tapped into the unbridled pool of talent that Shahid Kapoor is and gave him the characters of Guddu and Charlie, the starkly different twin brothers with their own shares of flaws and issues. This film reintroduced Shahid, the actor, in a never-seen-before dark and sexy avatar.
R Rajkumar
If you think that Shahid doesn’t have a classic potboiler under his belt, you are mistaken. The 2013 film R Rajkumar, directed by dancing superstar Prabhu Deva, couldn’t have had more Bollywood masala if it tried to. Shahid played Romeo Rajkumar wearing the most outrageous colours and unabashedly danced on the streets and spouted all the seetee-tali dialogues that the audience loved. The film was a big commercial success and cemented Sasha’s position as one of the most bankable actors.
Haider
This 2014 film, an adaptation of the Shakespearian tragedy Hamlet, reunited Shahid Kapoor with Vishal Bhardwaj. Shahid played the titular role in the film with panache. He injected the complex and eccentric character of Haidar with the customary Shakespearian pathos that made the film come alive. He went on to win a number of awards for his genius portrayal.
Udta Punjab
Who would have thought that the baby-faced guy who debuted with the teen flick Ishq vishk in 2003 could play the role of a drug-addict rock star with such elan! Shahid portrayed the character of Tommy Singh, the junkie, with an unnatural conviction and flair that made a lot of people cringe in their seats. The terrific actor won all the big awards for owning the controversial character.