Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor (Hindi: शाहिद कपूर;born on 25 February 198) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi language films. He is also a trained dancer.

Starting off his career by working in music videos and advertisements, Kapoor made his Bollywood debut as a background dancer in Subhash Ghai's Taal (1999). Four years later, he made his debut as a lead in Ishq Vishk (2003) and won a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for his performance. Following through with acclaimed performances in films like Fida (2004) and Shikhar (2005), he had his first commercial success with Sooraj R. Barjatya's Vivah (2006), and followed it up with Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009) which are also his biggest commercial successes so far.

Career

Early career, until 2005

Before starting off his career as an actor, Kapoor worked in several music videos and ads, including the Pepsi commercial with Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji post Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and the music video Aankhon Me Tera Hi Chehra by the Aryans along with Hrishitaa Bhatt. While doing so, he decided to join the Shiamak Davar Institute for the Performing Arts (SDIPA), where he was later seen in Subhash Ghai's film Taal (1999) as a background dancer in the song Kahin Aag Lage Lag Jawe along with actress Aishwarya Rai and in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) of Yash Raj banner with actress Karisma Kapoor.

In 2003, Kapoor played his first leading role as Rajiv Mathur, a carefree young man in Ken Ghosh's moderately successful love story Ishq Vishk. Appearing opposite Amrita Rao and Shenaz Treasurywala, the film was well received by audiences and Kapoor's performance earned him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. Film critic Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, "Shahid Kapoor is an actor to watch. He has all the qualities to hit the top slot. Not only is he good looking, but he is an amazing performer as well. Very original as a performer [sic], the youngster has handled the dramatic and emotional moments with flourish. He is an exceptional dancer as well. All he needs to do is pick and choose his forthcoming assignments with care, so that the journey to the top slot is minus hiccups."

The following year, Kapoor joined once again with director Ken Ghosh in the thriller Fida, where he co-starred alongside Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan. The film failed to do well at the box office, yet Kapoor's performance was praised. The Tribune concluded, "...Shahid Kapoor shines in his role. He looks fresh. As an impulsive emotional and innocent guy, who is sucked into crime because of these very qualities, he manages to evoke your sympathies." He then appeared in the romantic comedy Dil Maange More opposite Soha Ali Khan, Tulip Joshi, and Ayesha Takia. His performance opened to mixed reviews; Rediff.com wrote that "Shahid tends to imitate Shahrukh Khan a lot. He does it well in some scenes, overdoes it in others..."

Featuring in three more films in 2005, success continued to elude Kapoor. However, his performance as Jaidev Vardhan, a man who is sucked into the world of money and greed in John M. Matthan's drama Shikhar was critically acclaimed, earning Kapoor his first Star Screen Award for Best Actor nomination. According to IndiaFM, "Shahid Kapoor is only improving with every film. He matches up to Ajay in almost all sequences."

Breakthrough, 2006–present

In 2006, Kapoor starred in 36 China Town. Revolving around the story of seven individuals and a murder, the film became a moderate success despite receiving mixed reviews from critics. Shortly after the release of the film, Kapoor's second release of the year, Priyadarshan's comedy Chup Chup Ke, followed. The film became a moderate success at the box office.

Kapoor's last release of 2006 was Sooraj R. Barjatya's romantic drama Vivah, a film depicting the journey of two individuals from engagement to marriage. Co-starring alongside Amrita Rao, the film was received favourably by most critics and became one of the highest grossing films of the year as well as Kapoor's second biggest commercial success to date. Kapoor's performance earned his second consecutive nomination for Best Actor at the Star Screen Awards. Taran Adarsh wrote, "Shahid Kapoor performs like never before. If he was super-cool in Ishq Vishk and showed flashes of brilliance in Fida, you've to watch him in Vivah to see his growth as a tremendous actor. He is exceptional in emotional sequences."


During the summer of 2006, Kapoor embarked on his first world tour, the Rockstars Concert, along with Bollywood stars, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, John Abraham, Esha Deol, Mallika Sherawat and Zayed Khan.

In 2007, Kapoor appeared in two movies. His first release was Ahmed Khan's Fool and Final. The film received negative reviews and failed to do well at the box office; Kapoor's performance in the film did not receive positive reviews. His next release, Imtiaz Ali's comedy-romance Jab We Met, opposite Kareena Kapoor, became one of the biggest hits of the year. The film tells the story of two people with two very different personalities meeting each other on a train and how they fall in love eventually. Kapoor portrayed the character of Aditya Kashyap, a dejected young industrialist full of angst and despair. The film was well-received by critics and Kapoor's performance earned him several nominations for Best Actor at a number of award ceremonies, including Filmfare. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted, "Despite the risk of being overshadowed by Kareena, his co-star in the film, Shahid Kapur leaves an indelible impression with a performance that is understated and mature, and indeed the perfect foil to Kareena's boisterousness."


Kapoor then appeared in the Aziz Mirza-directed film, Kismat Konnection (2008), opposite Vidya Balan. Upon release, the film under-performed at the box office.

In 2009, Kapoor portrayed the dual role of twins Charlie and Guddu in the crime film Kaminey. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, the film was a critical and commercial success and received mostly positive reviews. Kapoor's performance was also critically acclaimed. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN wrote, "Shahid Kapur rises to the challenge of creating two entirely different characters out of Charlie and Guddu, and delivers a credible performance as each. Breaking out of his chocolate-boy image, he gives evidence of his potential when trusted with well-written roles." Later in the year, Kapoor appeared in Anurag Singh's romantic comedy Dil Bole Hadippa! alongside Rani Mukerji.

In 2010, Kapoor appeared in Ken Ghosh's film Chance Pe Dance opposite Genelia D'Souza, in which he portrayed the role of a struggling Bollywood actor. The movie received poor review from critics, but Kapoor's performance was well received. He then starred in Ahmed Khan's Paathshala alongside Ayesha Takia and Nana Patekar followed by Yash Raj Films' moderately successful Badmaash Company. As of April 2010, Kapoor has completed filming for Satish Kaushik's Milenge Milenge, which released on July 9, 2010.

Personal life

Kapoor was born to actor Pankaj Kapoor and actor/classical dancer Neelima Azeem on 25 February 1981. Kapoor's parents divorced when he was three. After the divorce, he lived with his mother and maternal grandparents in Delhi. He shared a good relationship with his father and stepmother Supriya Pathak. As far as his religious affiliation is concerned, Kapoor has stated in an interview that while his father is a Hindu and his mother is a Muslim, both his parents have taught him that he "should look at all religions without hatred and have compassion for every human being whatever his religion may be," saying that he believes that "there is one God up above."


He studied in Rajhans Vidyalaya, Mumbai. Kapoor is a vegetarian. He has three half siblings: a sister named Sanah and brothers named Ruhaan and Ishaan Khattar; Ishaan acted with him in the movie Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi (2005). His maternal grandfather was Anwar Azeem, a noted Marxist journalist and author from Bihar. His great great grandfather was the film director, screenwriter, Urdu novelist and journalist Khwaja Ahmad Abbas more popularly known as K. A. Abbas. His mother Neelima is the daughter of Anwar Azeem, one of the greatest Urdu writers. K.A. Abbas in turn was the grandson of Hali, the chief protégé of Urdu poet, Ghalib.

While filming Fida (2004), Kapoor began dating Kareena Kapoor. They dated for three years and then separated during the filming of Jab We Met (2007). According to him, they remained on good terms, with him saying, "I wish her all the happiness in the world. I have great respect for her. She is a wonderful girl."