Shahid Kapoor pondered on his journey and how he has changed and matured over the course of the past 20 years since the release of Ishq Vishk.
You should be sitting down for this — it has been 20 years since Ishq Vishk’s release, and turned Shahid Kapoor into an instant star. If the passage of time surprises you — wasn’t it just ‘kal ki baat’ when you trooped to a theatre with your buddies to watch the Shahid, Amrita Rao, and Shenaz Treasurywala debut vehicle — you are not alone. Yes, as unbelievable as it sounds, Ishq Vishk (May 9) completes 20 years and Shahid has been in the industry for two decades.
Shahid Kapoor, in a recent chat with indianexpress.com, expressed his gratitude for surviving the industry for two decades. He also shared how he came from Delhi, with no idea of how to pursue his dream. He joined dance and was modeling when the film happened. The actor looked back at his career and called it a ‘learning curve’.
Talking further about how he has grown and evolved but he has held on to certain qualities. Shahid said, “A lot in me has changed but certain fundamentals are very much the same. I hold on to that innocence that I started with. Yes, it goes away sometime, and then you have to connect with it again and then bring it back. It has to be always at the forefront. I really believe if you want to be good at anything, you have to be a student. You have to be curious, learn and evolve, that is the only way to be alive. You have to stay connected with yourself, stay young at heart, and also don’t take yourself too seriously. I have worked on myself in this department in the last few years. I have really tried to be like that.”
After Ishq Vishk, Shahid was touted as the ‘chocolate boy’ as he did a number of romantic films. He has successfully broken out of it, as in fans’ words, he’s in his dark phase now. Reflecting on the same, the actor said, “I was dying to break out of it. Honestly, I really don’t like tags. Now that people are saying I am good with grey characters, I don’t want to do it. Predictability is not an option for me. I want to do different kinds of films, different kinds of characters, and never be predictable. I start getting irritated by myself otherwise. When I shoot, I sometimes feel what am I doing, I have done that before. It’s also a good thing, as you also enjoy doing what people like seeing you do. But it’s also important to bring something fresh to the table.”
In an old interview with us, Shahid had also spoken about how he was extremely nervous on the first day of his shoot. Talking about his first day on Ishq Vishk set, he had shared, “I was very nervous! I was nervous every day of that film. I think we took about 11-12 retakes in the first shot.” Delving into how he’d bagged the project, he shared, “I gave auditions, I was rejected. Then I gave another set of auditions. And again I was rejected. Then I did a third round of auditions. Then I did dancing auditions. And then, I got the film. It was a long process before I got it.”
The much loved teen-romance Ishq Vishk’s sequel was also announced last year. Staying true to Gen Z’s take on love, the film has been titled Ishq Vishk Rebound. While Dear Zindagi actor Rohit Saraf plays one of the leads, it also marks the Bollywood debut of Hrithik Roshan’s cousin Pashmina Roshan (daughter of musician Rajesh Roshan). Jibraan Khan, who played Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s son in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham also plays one of the leads opposite Nailaa Grewal in this Nipun Avinash Dharmadhikari directorial debut.
As per the makers, the film has been rebooted to fit the contemporary timeline and offers a modern and relatable take on relationships between millennials and Gen-Z generation
