Shahid has proven time and time again that he is one of the most talented actors, even though he has made a few wrong choices of films in between, he is back on track and on his way to doing some great films. As we all wait for his next release; Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Shahid speaks to HotFridayTalks about the film and more.
EXCERPT
What’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu all about?
It’s a very entertaining, fun relatable film with very normal relationships about friends, family love and a social issue. The film is not too preachy, it’s an entertaining film. While the first half of the film is lovable, fun and warm, the second half has a social message but it’s entertaining at the same time without being preachy, it’s relatable. You might not like my character in the first half as he is a kamina kapti kind of person, who is full of himself, but give him a chance till the second half. (Laughs)
What is your character in Batti Gul Meter Chalu all about?
It’s a different kind of character for me. He’s not very articulate, his language is very raw and imperfect. He’s not charming at all and I’ve tried to play the character as honestly as possible and not add any heroic elements to it. I have not tried to add things for people to love him.
Image Credit: Batti Gul Meter Chalu movie
You speak a different tapori kind of language in the movie. Did you observe anyone in particular to get the right nuances of the character?
My director, my writers and a lot of locals I bumped into there and I kind of depended on my own ‘andhar ka, raste ka jugadu’ that lives within me. I have that in me you know. Before I became an actor and even after you become an actor for the last 15 -20 years, you have to be a major jugadu! (He jokes)
Do you have any fun memories of the things you did during a power failure?
I’ve had more such experiences in Delhi than Mumbai. We used all run down and play hide and seek. We would run away to the ice cream guy and buy ice cream or cold drinks at a discounted rate. It would mostly be ice cream because the ice-cream would be melting. That was great fun.
Shahid, you have had your share of ups and downs but now you are back on track. How do you redefine stardom and do you filter your thoughts before speaking?
I filter my thought as much as I would when I am speaking not in a closed room, when you are in larger room with a larger group of people you obviously are more careful of what you say so you don’t hurt anybody but try to be honest about what I can be and be straight up how I feel as much as I can without being hurtful.
Image Credit: Batti Gul Meter Chalu movie
What do you think has changed in you as an actor over the time?
Over time I have realised that I have dropped all my guards as an actor and I don’t try and play safe. So I feel very scared before every film of my film comes out because like I said I don’t play safe and I don’t have starry considerations in my head when I am interpreting characters and I have realised that is something I have stopped doing. I don’t know whether that is good or bad for me I just try and do what I feel when I read a script and what it is doing to me. I just try to bring the person that is in there to life. The purpose is to bring somebody new and I hope when people watch this film they will feel that they have not seen this kind of Shahid before.
How open are you to web series? Now that there is a lot of original Indian content being made?
I would love to do web series but the only problem is that I do one film at a time because I change my look for every film and most of the films that I am doing require me to rediscover myself as an actor or the kind of language I speak in this film and the kind of silhouette I have in this film. If something is exciting enough for me to take out a lot of time as digital content requires a lot of time, it’s almost 20 hours of footage as opposed to 2 and half hours of a film. But if I am not committed to too many things then I would definitely be open to it but I don’t know if I can give that kind of time at this stage, with all the films I am doing. Practically I don’t see it as an immediate possibility but am I excited about the medium do I feel it offers something new to actors, do I feel it’s exciting, then yes, definitely.
Image Credit: Batti Gul Meter Chalu movie
As an actor what are the challenges you face?
I am very afraid of what people will think about what I’d love to do so when I am on a film set I just try to do what I think is right for the role and later I start stressing and worrying about whether people will like it. That’s a big fear and that’s always a challenge to see what people would say once they watch the film. Whether they get the character, whether they love him for who he is. Those are the fears.
Shahid, we are sure the audience is going to enjoy watching the tapori side of you in Batti Gul Meter Chalu.
