How Vishal Bhardwaj Zeroed Upon Shahid Kapoor in HAIDER?

Shahid Kapoor Birthday Special…

Shahid Kapoor, the ‘Chocolate Hero’, who was discarded by so called critics as a commercial star, capable of just dancing and singing around the tress with beautiful heroines, eventually tight lipped his critics with his powerhouse performance in Vishal Bhardwaj’s HAIDER. 

The actor was awarded almost all the top notch awards of the country from the most prestigious and old Fillmare Award to Screen Awards to Stardust Awards, BIG Star Entertainment Awards, Star Guild Awards etc. 

Shahid Kapoor turns 34 today; Raaga.Com wishes him many happy returns of the day and recalls how Vishal Bhardwaj zeroed upon him for this coveted role.

Few know that Vishal Bhardwaj’s first choice for the role of HAIDER was his favorite actor Irrfan Khan. So how did Vishal zeroed upon Shahid Kapoor?

In an interview Vishal spilled the beans. He said, “While I was working with Shahid in KAMINEY, I was bowled over by the young actor’s commitment and his dedication for his role hence I decided to take a risk.” 

He added, “However I did not give my nod to Shahid just because of his brilliant and acclaimed performance in KAMINEY but I took his screen test, particularly, his mastery over long monologues, which is the backbone of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.”

He informs, “When I gave Shahid a long monologue to perform I was amazed by his dialogue delivery and was reminded of legendary actors Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapur after listening to Shahid deliver those wordy pieces on my headphones. Thus I made up my mind to give Shahid this complex character and bring out the hidden talent in him.” 

Interestingly Shahid Kapoor himself in an interview had candidly confessed, “When I gave the nod to the role of HAIDER, I did not knew the complexity of the character but when I started shooting I felt the weight of the role on me.”

“This was the kind of role Vishal sir would give an actor the level of my father Pankaj Kapur or Irrfan Khan, people with very high caliber. He took a big risk by casting me in it, but he had that confidence and love for me,” he quipped.