Shahid Kapoor on box office pressure ahead of Jersey: ‘Jo hoga dekha jayega’
After many delays, Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey is all set to release on April 14. The drama about second chances will be clashing with Yash-starrer KGF: Chapter 2. Shahid, however, believes there is a place for everyone.
“If ‘KGF 2’ is a good film, it’ll surely work; if ‘Jersey’ is a good film, it’ll definitely work,” Shahid said at a press conference in Mumbai on Monday. “There is an audience which wants to watch our film, another wants to watch the other film that’s coming out, and then there is also that audience which simply wants to watch a film. They wait for a holiday to watch a movie. So why should you not be the film that is in the theatres when everyone wants to go and watch a movie,” he added.
Shahid then also shared how he was advised to do a “big film” after Kabir Singh’s phenomenal performance at the box office. “After Kabir Singh, everyone said I should do a 150-crore film, people will back me up with money. I thought, sure they will put money, but what will the film be? There’s a difference between making a scaled film and a good film. It’s still possible for me to do a big film, but why am I doing Jersey and not that? Because I am chasing the heart of a film, not the size of the film. To me, the heart of the film is the size of the film,” Shahid said.
About staying away from big-budget film, Shahid said, “I don’t come from that thinking that if you spend a lot of money, audiences will turn in huge numbers. I actually get scared when I am doing high budget films, because in those, things go out of your hands. There are a lot of factors there.”
Shahid then also shared his views on how he has been tackling pressure of his films’ performance at the box office. Shahid has been around for the last nineteen years, he says, “Life goes on ‘jo bhi hoga dekha jaayega’, I think it is a good strategy. You have to always get up regardless of what happens, and that’s how I’ve lived my life. I’ve been here for a while; I am completing 19 years (in the industry) this year. I don’t feel that old, but I’ve been here for a while.”
Shahid also shared how it is important for him to be an actor, more than a star, and that’s because of his parents Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azim. He said, “The potential of the film depends on its genre and how much ‘reach’ it can get. I took a bit of time to understand because I come an acting background, not a stardom background. My father has been an actor, so we have discussed our craft in a very pure way; my mom has always been an arte, so we have spoken about acting as an art.”
“For me, more than box office numbers, it is important that I should be able to give my maximum to the audience, I think how I can make it a better experience for them, make the quality of the film better. There is a core audience and then there is a wide audience, they watch any film that is good. Then you have your audience, they want you as an actor. Of course, box office is very important, but for me it is more important that my film is accepted the audience. After Kabir Singh, I have got a wider audience and I’ve received a lot of love. The kind of emotions I’ve felt through their love, I’d love to return it to them with Jersey. I want them to feel that they got to watch a wholesome film and that it touched their heart is some way. When you are touching people’s hearts, box office numbers don’t matter,” Shahid concluded.
