Shahid Kapoor

is simply unstoppable! One of the hottest stars of Bollywood, while he continues to reign the Box Office as one of the most sought-after names in the industry, he backs up his super-stardom with some of the most power-packed performances seen in Indian cinema. Unafraid to take risks, we have seen him venturing to tap into the darkest and some of the most complex characters and play them out convincingly. Quite a contrast from the romantic hero image that he’d earned over the years, he’s traced all spectrums of different genres effortlessly, be it action, romance, drama, comedy or noir! From playing the sweet quintessential lover-boy in Ishq Vishq to acing as the romantic hero in films like Vivaah and Jab We Met , and to the intense role in and as Kabir Singh to playing royalty with aplomb in Padmaavat , his career trajectory also has him bring to life some of the most edgy, intense, dark and complex characters to life with an amazing ease in films like Haider, Kaminey, Udta Punjab… The actor now continues to raise the bar with the success of his latest show Farzi on Amazon Prime Video that also marked his debut on the OTT! That he proved his mettle as an actor with the role once again is clearly no surprise anymore. Interestingly, the star also completes 2 decades in the industry this year. As I catch up with Shahid Kapoor for this exclusive interview, it’s easy to see that he’s come a long way not only as an actor but continues to be far more settled on the personal front than he’s ever been as a loving husband to wife Mira and a doting dad to his two adorable kids. “It happens through step by step understanding of who you are and then you understand what you’re not,” he says looking back at the 20 years of growing and learning through all his experiences. Fun, witty, charming and one of the hottest stars… that’s Shahid Kapoor. Excerpts from our candid chat

What made you sign Farzi? Was it the directors Raj and DK or the character?

I had wanted to do something on OTT. It was on my mind because I had become a consumer who was watching a lot of content which was long form and as an artiste, I was really enjoying the space an actor gets to express and play and portray over a long… kind of six to seven hour show. And I had watched The Family Man and totally loved it. So, when they called me for a movie, I asked them for a show. And they said, ‘Are you sure?’ because that was right after Kabir Singh and I was like ‘yeah, I’m sure, I want to do it’. So then they told me that they had this show called Farzi which they had actually earlier offered to me as a film, but it never got made as they couldn’t put it into two hours. They needed more time to tell the story. And I was like “alright, I guess it’s in our destiny to do this together.” And I kind of knew the beats of the story and they told me how they’ve adapted it for the longer format, and I felt that that was even better than what it could have been as a movie and that’s just how it happened.

Farzi is being so highlyacclaimed globally… Did you expect such an amazing response?

You know you always want it, but then sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t. So, when it happens, you feel a great sense of satisfaction and gratitude that OKAY! It happened. It’s landed the way we thought it would land. But Farzi went beyond that because the way it has performed globally, it’s absolutely unreal. And I think that goes to show that Indian cinema is really travelling and the audience, now there are no boundaries.

Good content can just travel everywhere. It’s done exceptionally well in Hindi and in the regional Indian languages and it has done exceptionally well in English. It’s doing exceptionally well in many dubbed languages which goes to show that there no boundaries now. Content can get consumed by various social strata, by various culture, countries, languages which is very liberating. And that’s something that the OTT platform is doing seamlessly. You can watch it everywhere together. It’s the same platform, right? So I think that is my biggest takeaway that the world is our oyster, let’s go do great stuff.

You really seem to enjoy sinking your teeth into layered characters like these… That’s what acting is about. It’s about playing challenging roles. I’ve been doing this for 20 years, if I don’t feel challenged, I’ll sleepwalk through something. So, it’s very important to feel challenged, it’s very important to try something that’s different… It could go right, and could go wrong. I think when you feel like you’re walking that thin line, it always brings out the best, at least for me. I always do my best when I feel like - agar ye galat chala gaya to ekdum off chala jayega. You know when you feel like that and then you really want to give it a try? So, it helps me be more focused and work harder.

You recently celebrated your birthday, how different is it today vs 20 years ago? Earlier I had my family and close friends. Now I have my wife, and I have my children. So, I’m still surrounded by the people that I love and the people that matter the most. And it’s still pretty much sticking to the basics. You know, doing what I love and spending all my time with the people that matter and trying to grow and be better. Of course, at that time my life was different, and I was at different stage and age and now I’m in a different stage and age, but the basics are still the same.

You also complete 20 years in the industry and you’ve literally grown here! What’s been the biggest takeaway as an actor? The biggest takeaway is ki kisi ko kuch nahi maloom hai ki kal kya hone wala hai. Live in today, give it your best. Be authentic, be honest. Be real. Don’t try and be a version of somebody else. Don’t look around to figure out what’s successful and chase it. I’ve gone through all those beats in my life and come back to the first one. I’m just going to be me, and rest will figure itself out.

Yes, we have seen you in that phase where it was more about proving yourself. Today you seem more relaxed where it’s more about enjoying the craft… is ki kisi ko kuch nahimaloomhaikikalkyahonewala hai . Live in today, give it your best. Be authentic, be honest. Be real. Don’t try and be a version of somebody else. Don’t look around to figure out what’s successful and chase it.

Yeah, I am far more comfortable in my skin now. And I think it takes time to get there. You need to allow yourself to go through many beats in life and till you don’t figure out what’s not you, which would also happen through step by step understanding of who you are and then you understand what you’re not. And as you go through those beats, you finally come through - okay this is me. All those things I was trying to do was not me, this is me. This is who I am, and I feel like that’s where I am now.

So, what does it mean to be Shahid Kapoor today? It’s, simple. I’m doing what I love. I’m surrounded by people who are by my side and who love me very much and my feelings matter to them, and they are my world. Wanting to grow every day, wanting to enjoy life. There’s more to life than just work. As you grow older, you’re like… your best years are like ‘arey, now I’m 40, arey… 42, abhi kya hoga!’ So everyday becomes more valuable and there’s more you want to juice out of everyday.

So, I feel like that, I feel I’m more driven, more focused, more engaged with life than I was maybe, 10 years back.

What about your roles? Do you ever think about doing the kind of roles that you might want to show to your kids?

(Laughs) Yeah, my wife just said that to me when Jab We Met was re-released in the theatres recently. She was like, that’s your one film which I can show the kids. In all these other films, you’re playing all these dark, edgy, complex characters. They can’t watch it… and I agree with her. I was like haan ye wali film dikha do unko. So at least they know what their father does (laughs). Unko to ye pata bhi nahi tha ki main karta kya hoon

And what was their reaction… Seeing you on the big screen?

They apparently had a great time. Actually, my mom took them to watch the movie and later told me that they seemed to have a really good time. So, I was happy, I was really happy. Now they know what their dad does at least, so it’s a good thing.

You’ve constantly been raising the bar with your performances. But do you feel a certain pressure to outdo your previous performance especially when you’re playing a kind of edgy, or complex and these intense characters like you have done… Like a Tommy in Udta Punjab or in Kabir Singh or Kaminey and now as Sunny in Farzi?

Not really. See, these things are not going to come every day. These kinds of roles don’t come every day. In fact, I feel in the last six to seven years, I’ve been fortunate to get a few of them. So, I hope more stuff gets written. My bigger concern is, let’s create the opportunity. Then once the opportunity is there, whether we do well or we don’t do well, at least we had the opportunity to give it a shot. So I’m looking for that opportunity as an actor. Every time I get it, I’ll just deep dive into it, but it doesn’t come every day. So it’s more about just enjoying the process and not really overthink it. The other thing is that I don’t want it to feel like I’m only doing certain type of roles. So, I also want to keep it fluid. Even as actor when you do something, after a while you feel, haan abhi I’ve done enough of this, let’s try something else yaar. I think I’m overdoing it. You get that feeling from inside.

Healthcare consultant and young entrepreneur Asmi Ahmad is a strong advocate when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle! But what sets her apart is the fact that not only does she believe in maintaining a balanced life for healthy individuals, but also works extensively on bringing about these healthy changes in lives of patients undergoing extensive treatments. A degree holder in MSc. Nutrition and dietetics, PG in Clinical Oncology and Nutrition for diseases and cancer nutrition management, it is her humane approach to disease management where symptoms can be managed through diet and lifestyle changes that can help patients lead a healthy and pain-free life. A rising star in health care industry, she is also a much popular lifestyle and health influencer. In an exclusive interview, she talks to us about making a positive change through her work and also reveals all about launching Diaeta - her first nutritional supplement line!

How has this city helped you achieve your dreams?

Dubai gave me my wings! In Dubai, even sky is not the limit, this city makes you want to be the best version of yourself and the amount of opportunities we are exposed to here are remarkable. Also being in a city where you get to interact with people from around the world, see their culture, traditions, food, the mindsets, especially the local Emirati food which is so packed with nutrients that it’s purely inspirational… Living in Dubai just diversifies your thinking and that has really been a pivotal point for me in working towards my dreams and aspirations. Nothing is impossible when you are in Dubai! What aspect of healthcare as a profession do you find most challenging and what’s most interesting about it?

The most challenging aspect has to be the journey of earning your client/ patient’s trust, I believe unless your patient trusts you, they won’t trust your treatment methods and so you won’t be able to do your job. However, this journey is also the interesting part of my job when I see a patient getting results or being pain-free without medicines and just enjoying life, it gives me pure adrenaline rush to see people happy!

What’re the most common healthcare concerns you see that are lifestylerelated and can easily be rectified? Delusions about body positivity, not to say everyone should have abs, but be free of ailments. Nowadays, body positivity is a cover for ‘I’m lazy’ and that needs to stop! Excess body fat leads to a ton of problems such as imbalanced hormones, increased inflammation, increased risk of diabetes, CVD and cancer, not only health wise but also physically your appearance is compromised by the side effects of being overweight which leads to low self-esteem and social anxiety. These problems can be easily avoided by keeping most of your meals healthy and nutrient dense and of course sometimes enjoying the cheat meals along with choosing a physical activity that keeps you toned!

Mental well-being and physical wellbeing go hand-in-hand, so how do you approach this and balance the two?

Your mind holds much more power than you can imagine! So always keep your mind on your side, one way of doing this, which also impacts your physical wellbeing is by eliminating the toxicity around food, people love terming foods as ‘bad’ and ‘good’, personally, I believe all food is good but quantity and frequency matters! So for my patients nothing is off the table, they can enjoy everything, but not every day. This allows you to be healthy and pain-free yet have no regrets. To tell yourself that something is ‘NOT ALLOWED!’ will only make you want it more and then you constantly having to resist and be sad over what, food! That according to me is not worth it! We have enough stress in our lives already we don’t need an ice cream to be added to the list!

Can you share some tips to have a healthier and balanced lifestyle?

My number 1 tip would be to always listen to your body and soul! If you feel like a certain diet or food is making you uncomfortable in anyway then simply eliminate it from your lifestyle and add something your body agrees with, but here, being honest is the key! Otherwise none of our bodies WANT to agree with spinach and instead want fries. Then comes the body itself, have at least 30-45 minutes a day for some form of physical activity, could be literally anything you like! Third and most importantly take care of your mind, in life many things / people / situations will try and tear you down but as long as you keep your mind positive you will always shine through, and yes it won’t be easy throughout, but we can all try! So in short, love your body, live your life and nourish your soul!

What is your approach to treatments especially in cases of cancer?

Cancer not only impacts you metabolically, but also physically and mentally, so I believe in treating all three. Once a person gets on chemo/ radiation or is even going for surgery or any of these cocktails, the side effects of these treatments start to show up, which can be quite a challenge to go through. So we provide a personalized plan that is custom made for each client to meet their needs and provide relief at the earliest! Along with a safe space to talk, this can be regarding the treatment, their own fears or even basic emotions, anything that helps, we are here through your journey!

What is the advice you’d share with patients suffering from long-term illnesses?

My first piece of advice to a long-term illness patient might sound weird but it is: DON’T STRESS, because stress makes everything worse. For example when an arthritis patient stresses they tend to create more inflammation that increases the pain. The most important thing to do in long-term illness is to figure out which type of diet / lifestyle can help you stay pain-free, increase the duration between flare-ups, help you reduce the pain meds and improves the quality of life!

Tell us about your new endeavor?

We are launching Diaeta, and its first nutritional supplement line which is purely focused on bettering the health of the people suffering from diseases. The line consists of supplements and meal replacements which will provide a delicious way of managing the symptoms. These products are non-GMO, all natural, gluten-free and just filled with helpful nutrients. My goal has forever been and will always be to ease the pain and symptoms of the people going through painful diseases and now with the nutritional supplement line I’m one step closer to reaching every home and heart!

What’s the way forward?

The world of treatment is changing altogether, people are now more drawn towards side-effect free treatments and they also want something that will cure them rather than just hide their symptoms! That’s exactly what I aim to do as well! So we want to bring in personalized treatment plans which will make sure that the patient receives the maximum benefit from us in the shortest amount of time possible!

What would be your advice to people fasting in Ramadan who are suffering from arthritis?

Fasting has shown to reduce chronic inflammation however when someone fasts during Ramadan its sole purpose is spiritual! It’s such a beautiful month filled with immense amounts of blessings. Having said that, fasting has been shown to reduce the inflammation in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases by reducing the proinflammatory factors in the body and also reduces insulin resistance which has been helpful in preventing cancer as well. So this month isn’t just helpful for your soul, but also for your body, so HAPPY FASTING!