Could Haider Change The Game For Shahid? We Trace His Roller Coaster Journey

‘Haider’ was a much awaited film and it did not disappoint. It has not only received critical acclaim but has also received high praises from the masses. As far as the box office is concerned, the movie was slowly inching towards the 50 crore domestic mark while holding it’s ground, a big feat, considering the movie isn’t a commercial drama. And among many things loved about the movie, one was Shahid Kapoor. He has acted exceptionally well and done complete justice to his role. Considering that things weren’t too rosy for him in the industry before this movie, could ‘Haider’ be  his turning point to the good side? We take a look at Shahid’s roller caster journey.

 

A DREAM DEBUT

Shahid Kapoor arrived in Bollywood with ‘Ishq Vishq‘, a film that instantly made him a much loved actor. The film was moderately successful and Shahid Kapoor was praised for his acting and dancing skills and was one to watch out for. He even received the Filmfare Award that year for the Best Male Debut. Overall, it is apt to say that Shahid had a dream start in the industry.

 

FOLLOWED BY AN AVERAGE PERIOD

 

What followed after ‘Ishq Vishq‘ was an average period for Shahid Kapoor. A lot of his films such as ‘Fida’ and ‘Dil Maange More’ were not so successful at the box office while the ones that did do well, such as ‘Chup Chup Ke’ and ’36 China Town’ could unfortunately not surpass the success of ‘Ishq Vishq‘. However, the upside through all this was the fact that Shahid mostly received rave reviews for his performances and even received a nomination for the best actor at Star Screen Awards for his role in the critically acclaimed movie ‘Shikhar’. 

 

THE GOOD & THE BAD YEARS – 2006 – 2009

In 2006, Shahid starred in a romantic drama alongside Amrita Rao, ‘Vivah’, which catapulted him into success that was beyond that of ‘Ishq Vishq’. Then, in 2007, Shahid was seen in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Jab We Met’ which turned out to be a blockbuster hit. The movie earned him several nominations and was easily one of his biggest hits. In 2009, the actor starred in Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Kaminey‘ which not only did well at the box office, but even got critical acclaimed. Shahid was especially praised for his power packed performance and for portraying a role (he had a double role in the film) that pushed his boundaries as an actor. While the actor did have a few flops in between these 3 successful movies, they bad was indeed overshadowed by the good ones.

Unfortunately for Shahid, while the year 2007 may have been a good year for him professionally, the same couldn’t be said for the personal front. He broke with Kareena Kapoor, his girl friend of 5 years and one could make out it wasn’t the best of time for the actor.

 

THE STRUGGLE

While most actors struggle in the beginning of their careers, it is interesting to note that Shahid’s intense struggle period started a good 6 years after his career. He acted in several films such as ‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ and ‘Chance Pe Dance’ which did not fare so well at the box office, nor did bring him exceptional critical acclaim. Shahid did act in ‘Mausam’ where he was praised for his performance and ‘Badmash Company‘ which had a decent run at the box office, but none that were doing the actor justice. Post ‘Mausam’, Shahid appeared in ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’ and ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’, none of which worked well at the box office, giving him a string of 3 flops. It is also interesting to note that Shahid devoted a lot of time to Mausam, and is said to have rejected a lot of other film offers.

In 2013, he starred in Raj Kumar Santoshi’s ‘R…Rajkumar‘, a film that did good at the box office but wasn’t too praised by the critics. The movie provided the actor some relief but didn’t do for him much.

This period of time was especially tough for Shahid since new breed of talented actors were cropping up each year, each lot better than the previous. The bar had been raised and the Shahid had a lot to catch up on while everyone who started around the time he did were miles ahead.

 

AND FINALLY…

‘Haider‘ came along. Shahid showed to the world why he still not only deserved to be in the industry, but even thrive as a successful actor here. It had been a long time since we last saw Shahid in such a power packed role, one that really forced him to push his limits as an actor  and bring out the sheer brilliance in him. His last few movies had been very much in the commercial zone, but had failed to do well commercially. ‘Haider‘, being an unconventional movie brought in the numbers apart along with the praises.

And that’s not it. He looked good too! For an actor known for his chocolate boy looks ( something that worked for him initially but perhaps was limiting him in the last few years) he really changed the game with his beard and grunge(ish) looks in the movie.

His acting has been spoken highly of, and all in all, Haider was just the movie Shahid needed and things look brighter from here on.

Welcome back Shahid!