Some actors believe they have less chance of making it big in films if they don't have a 'godfather'.
Shahid Kapur, the star of Ishq Vishk, does not think so. "You don't need a godfather to survive in the film industry," he argues. "Take Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. They never had any godfather. They came on their merit and proved themselves. Both of them came from nowhere and became superstars."
But surely it helps to have the support of a family with a filmi background?
"People with a big star family background get good breaks compared to other newcomers," admits Shahid. "[But] that does not mean they will do well in the industry in future. At the end of the day, a person who performs well before the audience will stay for a longer period and make it big at the box office."
 |
Shahid recently signed choreographer turned director Ahmed Khan's Deewane Huye Paagal. Produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, the desi adaptation of the Hugh Grant-starrer Mickey Blue Eyes also features Anil Kapoor and Rajpal Yadav.
"I am happy that I am going to work with such great artistes as Anil Kapoor and Rajpal Yadav. Both of them are very talented," smiles Shahid.
Son of actors Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azim, Shahid feels that "filmmaking and acting is 10 per cent talent and 90 per cent perspiration. Luck is also important. It has to be on your side."
The 23 year-old actor adds, "It is important to expect things in life. But it is equally important to be grounded and work hard. I am doing both right now.
"I am also lucky to get big-banner films. Right now, I am only concentrating on my next film Fidaa. I hope my other films fare well like Ishq Vishq."
Shahid regrets not being able to work in Karan Johar's next film owing to date problems.
"It is a great loss to me that I could not give Karan Johar's company [Dharma Productions] bulk dates," he said. "It was very unfortunate."
Johar's company wanted Shahid to give them 55 dates at a stretch, but he already had other commitments. "I liked the script and the story idea too. Somehow it did not materialise. Inshallah, We will work together in future," he says optimistically
Besides Deewane Huye Paagal, Shahid is working on Satish Kaushik's Milenge Milenge (Kareena Kapoor), Ken Ghosh's Fidaa (Fardeen Khan, Kareena), Anant Mahadevan's Dil Maange More (Soha Ali Khan, Ayesha Takia, Tulip Joshi), and John Mathan Matthew's untitled film (Ajay Devgan).
On a philosophical note, the young actor concludes, "Sometimes you are happy, sometimes you are sad, and sometimes you are scared. Some people are always happy. These are different facets of human beings. For me, the most important thing today is to concentrate on my career and films. I am not thinking too much about the future. I am very focused in my films now. Rest all is destiny."
Anupamaa
22