Glimpse – July 2019

JULY 2019 | GLIMPSE | 61

party who doesn’t drink and drops
each and every person home. I used to
stand and observe while everybody had
bottoms up and I am still the same, so
I feel that my observation helped me in
getting in the feel of the character. “.
The character is shown quite
aggressive, so we asked how difficult
was for him to play that role. Shahid
responded in a humor, “Shaadi ho gae
hai meri, saari feeling iss character mein
dal di (I am married now, so I have pour
in all my feelings in this character. “ He
added, “When I saw the film although it
was in a different language, I was able
to connect with it and once you can
connect to something nothing seems
difficult. “
The Udta Punjab actor doesn’t
believe in taking workload home. He
said, “During the character I used to
smoke 20 cigarettes per day as the film
demands off and it would take me close
to two hours to shower and get rid of the
smells before I could return home to my
children. Also, you need to balance your
personal as well as professional life so
I leave my character at the set once the
shoot is done. My family is my detox”.
Shahid has different views on what
movies influence. He feels that issues

such as drugs, heart break, rape etc

should be addressed. He said, “People

smoke cigarette, they are being sold

...! Cigarettes are not good for health

still they are readily available. If there

is an issue and you don’t address then

how will it be solved. It is important to

show the truth. We all know that if there

is love, there is going to be physical

proximity and it doesn’t depend on

the fact whether you are in college or

married. Movies are made on what is

happening in our daily lives, from which

one can resonate and it also spreads

awareness, if there is a villain then there

is a hero too. It is upto you who you

choose to be”.

Udta Punjab is very close to Shahid’s

heart. He says, “Playing a character is

like being in a relationship. The more

you meet somebody, the more you

understand them. Not all characters

have the potency do that. Udta Punjab is

a film that is close to my heart, although

I am not from Punjab but I have a close

association “. Nobody inspires him.

“Mimicry and imitation is different

art, acting is a different art ...it cannot

be copied. You need to be the original

character. I don’t take inspiration from

anyone on any character but yes I like

acting of few actors but that doesn’t

mean that I get inspired or copy their

expression that will be stealing”.

After marriage and making such a

hyped and brilliant career Shahid feels

he has changed in a better way. He said,

“Things have changed lately, I used to

be very structured but now I am

organic. I don’t think too much, I just

flow with it”.

RENDEVOUZ

G

Text : Manokriti Bedi