Shahid Kapoor shared in a new interview that he was apprehensive about playing Tommy Singh in Udta Punjab as he had never touched alcohol or drugs in his entire life.
Shahid Kapoor has delivered many memorable performances in his career spanning two decades. One of them is his portrayal of a drug addict named Tommy Singh in Abhishek Chaubey’s gritty thriller Udta Punjab.
But do you guys know that Shahid was initially skeptical about taking up this role. Reason? He has never touched alcohol or drugs in his entire life. The actor felt he would be embarrassed in front of his friends for playing a character dead opposite to what he is in real life.
Recently, in a chat with Pinkvilla, Shahid opened up on the same and said that he asked director Abhishek Chaubey why he was offered the role. The Bollywood star recalled the filmmaker telling him, “Bro, maine life mai kabhi sharab nahi pi hai. Aaj tak nahi pi hai. Maine life kabhi koi substance nahi ki hai. I don’t know what it is to be high.” Abhishek replied, “But I think that as an actor, you can do this character, and I feel like if you put yourself to do it…”
The actor continued, “I actually went through a lot of doubt because I knew my friends who drink will ask, ‘Why did you do it when you don’t know things?’ I thought I would be embarrassed, and it would be bad for me. But I loved the script and I loved the character. Then eventually I told myself, ‘If I can do this, which I cannot relate to at all, If I can pull this off, then I think I will be fearless for the rest of my life as an actor because this is as far away from my reality as it possibly can be.’”
Shahid told the news portal that he believes every challenging thing as an opportunity for growth. According to him, one should accept the challenge even if it seems impossible because it can push you to the next level.
Speaking about Udta Punjab, he explained, “And also, it’s a great role. I mean, if somebody else does it really well, I’ll look back and be like, ‘What a fool I was to let go of this opportunity,’ because how many roles like this get written? Usually, it’s just these nice guys who are running and doing all this.”
Udta Punjab also features Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Diljit Dosanjh in pivotal roles.
