Shahid Kapoor: No Mira-Shahid time now. All the time we have is Misha time

A sophisticated but cluttered room that serves as a home theatre greets us as we wait to meet Shahid Kapoor for this interview Decorative side tables are adorned with halffilled cups of tea and jugs of cookies none of which would have been consumed by the actor given the strict diet thats been charted out for him for his upcoming historical drama The home theatre which doubles up as a gym comes across as an ideal bachelor pad Yet the littered assortment of baby products reveal a different story Its almost as if this room tucked away in Kapoors basement can barely keep up with the pace of his rapidly progressing life mdash from a bachelor to a husband and a husband to a fatherA tiny staircase leads us to an expansive seafacing terrace where Kapoor greets us with a familiarity that seems confounding Chatting with Shahid is like talking to a college buddy is a frequently read anecdote that instantly comes to mind At first glance this does seem true Seated with folded legs on his couch the actor randomly prods us on our own relationship status in a bid to put his point across frequently digs into a bowl of highprotein cake and expresses gratitude towards the deafening planes that punctuate our conversations for giving him time to thinkExcerpts from the conversationYour latest outing will mark your third collaboration with Vishal Bhardwaj Which part about his filmmaking process inspires you the mostVishal sir always attempts to create a new world When you sign up for a project with him you can be assured that it will not be similar to his previous work There are only a few filmmakers like that Its Vishal sirs foremost priority to maintain this distinction in his projects Also his storytelling technique has several layers How has your relationship with him changed over the yearsIt has been an evolving relationship He has probably been the most relevant filmmaker in my career Hes given me two memorable films both of which have helped me discover myself as an actor I am very possessive about him If he tells me to do something and I do it something good happens He really works for me and I think I also work for him Youve spoken about how your equation with him changed from being a relatively reserved one in Kaminey 2009 to a more closeknit one in Haider 2014 and went back to being a formal on in your latest outing Why is that soHaider was a passion child for us We kind of made this baby that nobody wanted us to have Nobody was ready to back the film and he really wanted to make it When he told me about it I said Im with you lets make this So we were pretty close There was a lot of personal equity involved there This time I felt ignored by him on most occasions He had too many things to concentrate on while I wanted more of his attention He had multiple things to handle There were a lot of rumours about how you and your costar Kangana Ranaut didnt get along Is there any truth thereWe finished shooting for the film in April These rumours surfaced in December Why was it that there was no news about our equation back then If they rumours were true they would have surfaced then I had no issues working with anybody I thought people would believe that there were problems between me and Saif Ali Khan costar for obvious reasons but it went the other way around Kangana is one of the best actors we haveYouve often said that you have a problem with the term twohero films But there have been several reports about actors refusing to collaborate on a project Youve just bagged an award for your turn in Udta Punjab which had four lead characters What do you think of this trendAmitabh Bachchan is the most successful male actor Have you seen his filmography He has acted alongside several stars throughout his career But dont you think the dynamics have changed nowSays who Do you remember The Revenant 2015 Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the biggest stars we have in the world When he can work with Tom Hardy whats the issue Different people have different points of views Would I be okay participating in a film thats not just about me Yes I would I would actually be worried to do a film thats only about me Because how many subjects can only be about you Today its important to participate in films that are relevant exciting and new Its essential to be a part of great content If that happens through a film that has one character or multiple characters doesnt matter Even in Haider I didnt enter until the 25th minute I dont think the audience gives a st about the number of actors in a film I just dont want those sitting in the theatre to go Dude why did we come We should have gone for dinner or done something else You need to give them a great experience for two hours Internationally people are doing this all the time They are participating in good films Working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali is on every actors wish list How has the journey of Padmavati been so farSanjay sir drives you to give your best Its only the beginning but Im loving the experience He pushes every department to the maximum When you think youve done a good job with a scene thats where he starts working on youPeople loved your appearance with wife Mira Rajput on Koffee with KaranI think people have loved Miras interview and I was also there laughs I think what people enjoyed most was watching us as a couple It was more about seeing me as a husband and her as the person she is All the things that people have been saying about her are things that Ive known for over a year Shes normal shes great shes real But soon after that there was a string of critical comments where people claimed that you hadnt given a 21yearold girl the chance to explore her careerI dont give importance to people who try to get importance by criticising those who are important Just because she Mira got married early doesnt mean she doesnt have an identity Today women do what they feel like doing And as men we should respect that Whether you are a working woman housewife young mother or a woman who chooses to have a child at a later stage in life its your decision Mira and I are really happy I wish people could be happy for those who areMira Rajput and Shahid KapoorGiven your current schedule do you get enough time with daughter MishaThere is no MiraShahid time now All the time we have is Misha time Im loving this phasePriyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone have explored the world outside Do you aspire to head to Hollywood tooI am a home bird so I love being here Mumbai Also I dont like taking flights But if an opportunity comes my way why not partake in it I would love to do good work be it in any language Of course I will make certain that Im as comfortable expressing myself in that language as I am in Hindi I want to act If Im able to do that in another language no problem Having said that who am I to sit here and make plans I dont make fiveyear plans or chalk out my career I take life as it comes