Actor Shahid Kapoor: I Feel Fortunate To Have 'Farzi' In My Filmography

With two decades in the film industry, actor Shahid Kapoor has successfully given a wide range of roles. From ‘Haider’, ‘Kaminey’, ‘Udta Punjab’ to ‘Kabir Singh’, Shahid performed all his roles with utmost perfection and now with his OTT debut ‘Farzi’, An Amazon Prime Video show directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., collectively known as Raj & DK of "The Family Man" fame, the actor is once again receiving all the positive reviews for his flawless performance beautifully portrayed in the form of a gripping story.

The series features Shahid Kapoor in his digital debut as a cunning con artist and Tamil superstar Vijay Sethupathi as a relentless cop determined to stop Shahid's character from counterfeiting currency notes. In this conversation, Shahid talks about how relatable his character of Sunny was to him and looking back at his journey.

Excerpts from the conversation:

Q.Why do you think 'Farzi'  was important for your career

Farzi is amongst possibly the most exciting pieces of content  that has come across in the recent past so  I feel fortunate to have it in my filmography I feel the character of sunny is one of the most unique, edgy, and entertaining, charming but scary kind of parts that have come across so I feel as a character also it is one of the freshest things that I came across so I feel it's going to be  something that I would be very happy that I was part of

2) This is your OTT debut and that too with a series. Do you think this was the right time for you to make this move and join the growing world of digital entertainment consumption?

 I mean there is never a wrong time to do the right thing and not necessarily the right time to do the wrong thing. Fundamentally, if you do something that substantial then it finds space for itself. I have never gone for a convention. I have never made choices that were popular choices. I have always liked to make choices that were different and choosing to come on  oTT was something that was on my mind because I really enjoyed the content on OTT and I have consumed  a lot of content,  long format comes with its own set of advantages. as an actor you can really delve deep into a character and when I kind of collaborated with Raj and DK, I knew that they understood the platform and format really well  so I felt very safe and kind of happy to start with somebody who had the experience and they definitely had the experience  

Q) Is this the start of your exposure to the OTT world and is it right to say digital content requires a lot more time and dedication?

Films require a lot of time and dedication as well. I wouldn’t say that there is any lack of dedication or time in filmmaking. It's very very challenging and I felt the same while doing the show. I feel the challenge is more in what you do as an actor and what you bring to a part and how you tell a story well and how you make it compelling and that’s true for both platforms.

Q ) How relatable is your character Sunny in real life?

I found Sunny very relatable. My post-college days trying to figure out who I want to be, What I want to do. Trying to make people believe in me as an actor, giving auditions, living a middle-class life, traveling by local transport, kind of budgeting my days, and trying to support my family. I was the elder son trying to support the family and also kind of express myself, get a job, start earning, and be independent. So I can totally relate to Sunny and his angst about not being understood as an artist and the middle-class life that he lives so yeah there is Sunny in me for sure.

Q.) For someone who started as a background dancer in 1997 to become country's leading hero, Shahid when you look back at your journey in the industry, does that bring a smile?

Oh yeah, it brings a smile, it brings a laugh, mostly  I am laughing at myself at some very interesting choices that I have made and of course, I feel very grateful, there is a lot of gratitude and I feel very proud that I am here for 20 years, I am still working and I hope to work for as long as I can because  I absolutely and totally love what I do.