When we meet Shahid Kapoor, he is sitting on the floor of his suite in a five-star hotel, dressed casually in black pyjamas and a hoodie, finishing his lunch. Evidently relaxed, presumably from the good buzz around the film (Hindi remake of the Telugu blockbuster Arjun Reddy), he talks to us about why he agreed to do this remake, how he altered his process and his production plans.

I am an Arjun Reddy fan, and I am guessing you are too, which is why you agreed to do the film.
I am a big fan of the film. The script didn't come to me. I watched Arjun Reddy and loved it. It ticked most of the boxes for me as an actor. He is an emotionally distraught man. Vijay [Deverakonda] and I had our own take on being a self-destructive surgeon. Because it is a love story, the inherent emotion is very beautiful. It has its dark moments but overall the film gives a viewer a wholesome experience. I went back to playing a college guy after Ishq Vishk [my debut film]. I felt the film has pathos. The texture and the way the filmmaker made it, surprised me. South films have a different tonality usually — it's massy in energy, louder in pitch — which is often a disconnect from how films are made in Hindi. Sandeep [Vanga, director] made the film with great balance and gumption. It felt real and transports the audience to their world. I was sucked in by Arjun Reddy. When I met Sandeep, he was easy to have a conversation with and I knew, he is the only one who could make the transition from Telugu to Hindi effortlessly. Our film is considerably shorter.