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In his latest interview magnificent actor Shahid Kapoor expressed his desire to play Alauddin Khilji in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmavat’.
Shahid Kapoor who played the role of a composed Rajput ruler Rawal Ratan Singh in the movie, it seems instead had his eyes on the role of an aggressive Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji played by Ranveer Singh. He stated he would have played Alauddin Khilji differently than Ranveer Singh.
Shahid said, “Of course. Which actor would not wish to play a character like Khilji in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film? You know, once on Koffee with Karan, Ranveer said he would have done my role in Kaminey better than me… I would have done Khilji differently.”
However, he did praise Ranveer Singh for his performance in the movie. Shahid Kapoor said working with a talented actor like Ranveer Singh pushed him to put his best efforts in the movie.
This was the first time Shahid worked with Bhansali. He praised the director saying he commands excellence from his actors. “I think Sanjay sir has a tendency to keep pushing and trying until he gets exactly what he wants from a performer. His passion to achieve excellence is much focused and therefore, he looks like a taskmaster.
It is nothing negative, I would rather say that people who do not have that desire to achieve excellence, should not work with him. As a director, he is not difficult. He is just a genius and focused.”
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When asked about how his approach would have been different to Ranveer Singh, he said: “Firstly, I do not want to get into those details. Always remember, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the hero of all his films and we actors come second.
He was also asked about the interaction between him and the Ranveer Singh on the set. “I was Rawal Ratan Singh, who doesn’t react much, so I underplayed on the set as well. I was in my zone, listening to music, in between the scenes.”
“So whether it is the loud and larger than life character of Khilji or the subtleness of Ratan Singh, everything was governed by Sanjay Sir. So, this is his vision of his. What I just said about performing differently, is because we are two different actors and our style of acting is different,” he added further.
Shahid Kapoor believes it was a gamble for him to embrace the role of the lesser known character like Maharaja Rawal Ratan in the movie. “It was very challenging to do this role and film because to begin with Maharawal Ratan Singh is least known of all the three characters. Historically, there’s not much said about him. So, you have to introduce the audience to the character in a film, which already has two author-backed roles.
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To play a character, which is any way underplayed, very internal and not somebody who speaks too much is a challenge.” He said that Padmaavat threw up a “tricky opportunity” which could have “gone horribly wrong”. “But I took that risk because I have seen how after working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali sir, actors have got a huge mileage in terms of audience reach and success”.
Shahid said, “Of course. Which actor would not wish to play a character like Khilji in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film? You know, once on Koffee with Karan, Ranveer said he would have done my role in Kaminey better than me… I would have done Khilji differently.”
He was also asked about the interaction between him and the Ranveer Singh on the set. “I was Rawal Ratan Singh, who doesn’t react much, so I underplayed on the set as well. I was in my zone, listening to music, in between the scenes.”
However, he did praise Ranveer Singh for his performance in the movie. Shahid Kapoor said working with a talented actor like Ranveer Singh pushed him to put his best efforts in the movie.
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“The dynamics of two characters – Khilji and Singh – was quite interesting for an actor to play. I would say that the scenes between me and Ranveer were some of the best in the film. So, I got that adrenaline rush up my game to get all the scenes right. It improves our performance.”