Post Kaminey, Shahid wants to surprise again

"The older heroine paired opposite younger hero theory holds no water in present times. Audiences want to see a good film. If the heroine is one or two years older than her co-star, is an irrelevant issue," Shahid, who is awaiting his next release 'Dil Bole Hadippa' with Rani Mukherjee, said in an interview.

"I want to do films and roles which are challenging and out of the box. Audiences should see me in a different light which they may not be expecting. I want to surprise my audiences," he said.

He said he would continue to work in love stories because he is liked in such films.
"I want to have a mix of every thing. 'Kaminey' was an out of the box film. It's a bigger challenge to convince the audience of something they don't expect from you. It was a big step for me to do this film and I did it because I have great faith in Vishal Bharadwaj as director," the young actor said.

He said due to the acceptance he has got from the audience, his horizon as an actor has widened. "I have got the confidence to do different kinds of films. I have been accepted in a different light," he said.

Shahid who plays a sportsperson in 'Hadippa' says he is still discovering himself as an actor and the film is neither like 'Kaminey' nor 'Jab We Met'. Speaking about his character in 'Haddipa', Shahid said he plays a cricketer who plays county cricket in England.

"He comes to India to coach a cricket team. He is physically very fit, talkative but disciplined when on field. I connect with this character because I am very focussed while on sets and when off,I am a regular 28-year-old guy," he said.

The actor said the interesting aspect of the film is his character's interactions with Veer, the Sikh boy played by Rani. "I am the sophisticated English bred boy while Veer is a thorough Punjabi fellow and both do not understand each other. There was lot of humour in those scenes," Shahid recalled.

On his co-star Rani Mukherji, he said, "She is a complete heroine, is ravishing in Haddipa and looks very convincing playing cricket. She has never made me feel that she is a big star. We were unsure of how we will look together. We surprised ourselves because we make a good screen pair."

When asked if he felt overshadowed by Rani, Shahid said he was not a selfish actor.
"I give what the film requires. Insecure people tend to think like that," he said.

'Haddipa is an entertainer. It is a young and fun film," Love story is not the central focus. Cricket forms the background of the film," he said. He said he has already begun work for Yashraj's next directed by Parmeet Sethi opposite Anushka Sharma.

"Parmeet's film produced by Yash Raj is a love story. We have shot in Mumbai and the next schedule will be in the US and Bangkok," Shahid said. Similarly, his father actor Pankaj Kapur's film is also a love story and is slated to go on floors end of this year or early next year.

"We have not decided on the title and the co-star", he said. He said his back to back releases -- 'Kaminey', 'Dil Bole Haddipa' and Ken Ghosh's soon to be released 'Chance pe dance' have given him an opportunity to work with filmmakers of different sensibilities.
"All three were shot at during the same time and it was a learning experience," he added.