Kabir Singh is Shahid Kapoor’s first ever remake. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)Shahid Kapoor plays a temperamental doctor in his upcoming film Kabir Singh. The film is an official remake of Telugu hit Arjun Reddy, starring Vijay Deverakonda. At its trailer launch in Mumbai on Monday, Shahid shared how he got into the shoes of Kabir Singh.
“Rediscovering the character is challenging. I loved Vijay’s work. When I met Sandeep, we both wanted to search Kabir Singh’s soul and offer his personality to the audience. If you connect with the love story between Preethi and Kabir or if you have had a broken heart, you will understand the intensity of the film,” Shahid said.
“Kabir Singh is too honest. It has a lot of emotions and has a lot of dark moments also. We haven’t tried to change the world of Kabir Singh. It is very similar to Arjun Reddy. I really want people to see the honesty of Kabir Singh. Don’t judge the film or its language from the trailer. Watch the film for its soul. Only then you’ll know the headspace and journey of the character,” the actor added.
Talking about Kabir Singh being the first remake he has worked on, Shahid Kapoor said, “I don’t think I can comment on my performance. But I score it high when it comes to difficulty. This is my first remake, so there is already a film to compare my work with. It is a thin line between making it too different that it looks like a totally different film, and make it like the original one.”
In Kabir Singh, Shahid plays a temperamental, alcoholic doctor who is unable to deal with heartbreak. Talking about the projection of anger and aggression in the film, the actor said, “I think sometimes we are very hypocritical about how we tend to look at cinema which is made in India. We watch things made internationally and praise them for the fact that they are so honest, straight and not trying to be politically correct all the time. Cinema is meant to showcase different people having different experiences. It is not about wonderful perfect people I think we all are imperfect in our own ways. We all have grey areas within ourselves. We go through good and bad phases. We all have been angry at some point, hurt and negative at some point.”
“To me, watching a film like Kabir Singh will help you understand that when you allow yourself to be affected by those things, it can take you a path of destruction. It is a warning not to take that route. For people who might have been there, it can be therapeutic. Cinema acts as a medicine. If you see something you relate to, it helps you have a catharsis of sorts. To me, Kabir Singh is a cathartic film. It makes you honestly go through that journey of a man, without trying to sugar coat it, because then that’s being manipulative. Sandeep has made an honest film and people should watch it knowing that. If people only want to come and see people going ‘hey hey ha ha’, then cinema won’t go far. We need to be able to make real films,” he added.
Also read: Kabir Singh movie trailer LIVE UPDATES
While Arjun Reddy was panned for its treatment of female characters, has Kabir Singh played down that part of the story? Shahid Kapoor clarified, “What is your interpretation of film evolving? To always show the right thing? I did Jab We Met. Who was the aggressive character in the film? I played the submissive character. In Padmaavat, I was much quieter, and now I have done Kabir Singh where I am playing an aggressive character. In college, there are alpha males, men who feel they have a sense of territorial ownership over a certain place. There are other men who aren’t so aggressive in their behaviour. Some films depict those kind of characters. This film depicts this kind of character. You see the film and see what happens to him. Tommy Singh (Shahid’s character in Udta Punjab) does much worse things than Kabir Singh. If I start justifying characters, I can’t be an actor. I have to play characters for their good and bad. Represent them honestly. That’s what acting is about. Otherwise, I am just wanting people to like me. That’s what stardom is about. Acting is about being honest, letting people dislike you sometimes. It’s ok. It’s important.”
Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani at Kabir Singh’s trailer launch. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)Shahid signed off by calling the Sandeep Reddy Vanga directorial an honest and special film. “Kabir Singh is a very special film as it is straight from the heart. This heart belongs to Sandeep and it got broke. I don’t know how many times his heart was broken. Don’t take the story wrong just because so much alcohol and smoking is shown. This is a very honest film. Kabir Singh is as honest as Tommy Singh of Udta Punjab. I have always thought that cult films should not be remade. Arjun Reddy is a cult film. But I am glad that we made the remake as Kabir Singh depicts the honesty and intensity,” the actor said.
Also read: Kabir Singh trailer: Shahid Kapoor fights the demons of heartbreak and anger
Kabir Singh, also starring Kiara Advani, will release on June 21.
