Shahid Kapoor’s disappointing box office run continues

Shahid Kapoor’s disappointing run at the box office continues with the disastrous performance of his latest film ‘Rangoon’. Unless there’s a miraculous turnaround, the fate of Vishal Bhardwaj’s film has been sealed due to the poor opening and occupancy remaining at extremely low levels today.

A lot of stars have come and gone, but it’s Shahid’s career that has been arguably one of the biggest disappointments. Right from the time he made his debut in ‘Ishq Vishq’, there was hope within the industry that Shahid, given the talent that he showcased in his very first film, would go on to become a big star.

That hope was renewed when ‘Vivaah’ and ‘Jab We Met’ released in quick succession and did well at the box office. But all that changed the day Shahid met Vishal Bhardwaj. A director who gave him the opportunity to showcase his acting histrionics in films that noone watched.

The problem lies in the mindset.

Here’s what Shahid said in an interview recently:

Vishal Bhardwaj is the most relevant film maker I have worked with in my acting career. He has given me opportunities to showcase my acting talent in a way that probably even I didn’t know. Working with him has always been special and everybody in this industry wants to work with him.

I think this film (Rangoon) can be watched by a wider section of audience in comparison to Haider and Udta Punjab because this isn’t a dark film, rather it is dramatic.

Box Office numbers are very weird. There are people who do credible work and Box-Office numbers follow them and then there are people who have lot of Box Office number but two years down the line people forget them. Box Office numbers are very important but you should not run after it. You should run after wanting to be a part of a good movie.

We are in a state of flux right now because the industry is going through a change. I strongly feel that there is a lot of change coming our way and what we think of it as commercial won’t work anymore. I think content is king and it will drive the viewer into the theatre. Whoever offers the audiences a better experience, will always be the first choice. As an actor, it is our duty to offer something new and different which is in an unchartered territory. I don’t think we are in a time when people will go to the theatre to watch a particular star flex his muscles. An actor will be a star when he makes the right choices.

For an actor who believes only ‘right choices’ can make an actor a star, has Shahid ever questioned himself, why, inspite of being in the industry for 14 years, he hasn’t yet attained stardom. Why actors like Varun Dhawan or Ranbir Kapoor, who have also opted for a few niche films like ‘Badlapur’ or ‘Barfi’, have been able to carry those films? And even when they didn’t (Ranbir has had his share of failures), have only gone on to work in bigger films and bigger directors? Does he realise that commercial cinema is not all about a “particular star flexing his muscles”? Does he realise that box office numbers also means people are paying their hard earned money to watch films, and the lack of collections in the first weekend also shows that people aren’t interested in the films that he is making for them?

Everyone in the trade, bar none, knew Rangoon wouldn’t work. But for an actor with nearly 2 decades of experience behind him, to think a film like Rangoon would reach out to a larger section of the audience and to believe that every actor in the industry wants to work with Vishal Bhardwaj – shows the massive disconnect between his thought process and what the audience actually seek from films, which is entertainment.

It does not matter how you entertain, you could do it through a film like Vicky Donor or Barfi or Dangal or Kaabil, but having elements of entertainment is the key for films to succeed and reach out to a larger section of the audience.

A distributor recently told us, a large section of audience in smaller centres do not even recognise or remember Shahid Kapoor by his name. They only know him as the ‘R.. Rajkumar’ or ‘Vivah’ star. For an actor who possesses every talent essential to become a major star, Shahid’s career is a tragedy.

He still has time, opportunities could still come from better and more commercial directors, but until he realises that there’s an audience beyond social media and those critics that hail his films, things are unlikely to improve.