If all goes well, Shahid Kapoor will be back in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next, a contemporary love story that the visionary filmmaker is planning next. Apparently the filmmaker is deeply impressed by Shahid’s “skilled, subtle, nuanced and under-understated” performance in Padmavati.
Says a source from the film’s unit, “Shahid is the band mutthi, surprise packet of Padmavati. Everyone expects the focus to be on the dramatic conflict between Ranveer and Deepika Padukone. But the truth is Shahid has as much prominence in the script than his two co-stars, if not more.”
The source goes on to state how Shahid Kapoor came on board as an outsider and is now very close to the reclusive filmmaker. “Not just Shahid but also his wife Mira Rajput, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has warmed up to the couple. And he adores their little daughter. SLB is not one to seek friendship with his actors. But this time, he has let his guards down. Shahid came on board as the outsider among the three protagonists. Both Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone had worked with SLB twice over. For Shahid it was a first. And he was apprehensive about the experience, especially since he wasn’t playing the title role. But the way he has embraced his space in Padmavati will win Shahid a huge amount of critical praise and mass adulation.”
The clinching factor is not the friendship but the vast skills that Shahid has brought to his role of Rani Padmavati’s calm, strong-willed husband. SLB has told close friends that it will be Shahid in his next film, and none of the other names being tossed around carelessly.
Bhansali impresses Shahid Kapoor