Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor has stirred up quite the buzz on social media after he revisited a challenging phase in his career, during which he was allegedly ‘made to feel small’.
The actor, who is out and about town promoting his movie Deva, revealed that before the blockbuster success of Kabir Singh in 2019, he was allegedly made to feel ‘less of a star’. Without going into details or naming the people involved, the actor, during a candid conversation on Raj Shamani’s YouTube podcast, revisited the time when he ‘fought back’ the negative feelings.
“This happened to me before Kabir Singh,” he began and narrated, “I felt like I was being made to feel lesser like I didn’t measure up. No one forced me, but as an artist, a star, and an individual, I was placed in a situation where I felt diminished. And I fought against that feeling. It’s something I’ll never accept.”Going on to share his side of the story, he added, “It’s a comparative. Sometimes life puts you in a situation where it plays out in a way where somebody is… you’re in enclosed proximity and you’re made to feel lesser. It’s nobody’s fault, I’m not getting into that. But that is what I went through for some time. And I was made to feel like that. And I fought it.”
While the actor did not mention the film or the co-stars or even the director involved in the project, many fans were quick to speculate that Shahid’s comments might reference his experience working on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Padmaavat’. Back in 2018, rumours ran wild about tension brewing between Shahid and co-star Ranveer Singh.
This claim was fuelled by a previous revelation made by the actor, who expressed feeling like an “outsider” on the sets where he played Maharawal Ratan Singh alongside Deepika Padukone’s Rani Padmavati and Singh’s Alauddin Khilji.
In a 2018 interview with DNA, Shahid admitted, “I’m used to being the favourite of all my filmmakers. This was the first time I felt like an outsider. When you work with a team that has already collaborated, it takes time to break through that barrier.”
At the time, Ranveer and Deepika were on their third movie with Bhansali after ‘Ram Leela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’. Meanwhile, Shahid was shooting his first film with the director.
Shahid also reflected on his portrayal in Padmaavat, saying he was dissatisfied with his character’s depiction. “Looking back, I don’t think I brought out the full spectrum of Maharawal Ratan Singh’s personality,” he shared.
On the work front, Shahid will be seen next in the action film ‘Deva’ which is scheduled to release on 31 January 2025. It was initially slated for a Dussehra release on 11 October 2024, but was postponed to 14 February 2025. However, the makers decided to advance the release by two weeks.
