Where else can you be so many different characters in one life? For three hours on screen, you are God...I love that

The well-scrubbed Shahid Kapoor, who hit the bullseye with last year’s Ishq Vishk, looks forward to a bright innings in Bollywood

He breezed across the Bollywood box office like a breath of fresh air in 2003 with Ishq Vishk. Few remember though that Shahid Kapoor first faced rejection for the very film that turned him into an overnight sensation. “When director, Ken Ghosh saw me,” says the slimly built actor, “he dismissed me outright, saying that I was too young and too skinny.” A year of hard work – workouts, assisting father Pankaj Kapur on his tele-serial – and a little maturity later, Shahid learnt that the film had been delayed and met the director again. Surprised by the marked difference in the boy, Ghosh signed him on.

Shahid is aware that his baby looks and average height are factors he must work with, but these elements do swing in his favour as well. “After a long time (remember Bobby and Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak?), the young romantic hero has returned – the youth factor came up trumps in Ishq Vishk,” says Shahid. “Almost everyone from 12 to 25 has seen the film and loved it….” Conscious that his physique and age define his screen persona – “I know that I cannot be a doctor or a police inspector yet,” Shahid is being careful to avoid the stereotype. “Come on,” he grins. “I am just one film old. Anyway, I am signing different roles. Just to prove a point, Ken’s Fida is nothing like Ishq Vishk – I don’t play a regular chocolate loverboy in it.” Milenge Milenge, Dil Maange More and Life Ho To Aisa will also showcase him in different hues.

It is rumoured that scripts written for Vivek Oberoi and Hrithik Roshan are being reworked keeping the Shahid factor in mind: “You will have to ask the producers that,” he says diplomatically. “I take people and scripts at face value. Right now, I am enjoying acting,” he says. “I was always curious about the industry and now I am a part of it. Where else can you be so many different characters in one life? For three hours on screen, you are God…I love that.”

He confesses that his plunge into movies, though expected by his parents, Kapur and Neelima Azim (incidentally divorced), came a bit earlier than anticipated. Proud to have made it on his own steam and not in a ‘star-son launch’, he shares a close bond with his mother who’s buffered him from all the stresses and strains of life. Says Shahid fondly, “I cannot imagine a world without her.” No wonder then, that she shared his reel excitement in his debut film.

As far as his father is concerned, his admiration is boundless. “If I can do even five per cent of what he has done, I will be happy,” he admits. “He is amazingly versatile and I loved him in Ek Doctor Ki Maut and Maqbool. I hope I have imbibed something from him.”

He is not too sure what shape his career will take: “It’s too early to say anything, which films I will take on…. I have a long way to go yet and will cross the bridges when I get to them.” One thing he is sure of though is that he is too young to settle down. Rumours of a romance with Kareena Kapoor are doing the rounds – the two have been seen at events and functions. Says Shahid, “I have never hidden the fact that we are good friends and do spend time together. But I am too young to think of marriage now.” Touché.