'I get bored of myself!'

With his cartoon tee, open checked shirt, jeans and sneakers, Shahid Kapoor is very much the guy-next-door. The man you want your sister to marry. Then he smiles… and the glint reaches his eyes. Suddenly, he’s the man you want to take home to mum!

Masala! meets Shahid Kapoor at the InterContinental, Dubai Festival City, as he jets in for a whirlwind promo of Chance Pe Dance. It’s been a long day for him – but he’s as fresh as a Ken Ghosh film, laughing, chatting and flirting with ease. Here’s Shahid freewheeling through our interview, talking about everything from rumours and eight-packs to co-stars and fan moments.

Chance Pe Dance – why will a non-Shahid fan want to see the movie?

You’re making life difficult for me yaar (laughs out loud)! Hmmm, let me see. My last film was Kaminey. It got an A-rating so many people, including my three siblings, didn’t get to see it. I wanted to make a movie that everyone will watch and love. Everyone will connect with Chance Pe Dance, as all of us, at some level, have struggled. I’m sure before you became such a hotshot journalist (Masala! goes blush blush), you had to struggle, going from editor to editor with your stories. I had to struggle too. I had this Maruti, but I couldn’t afford to pay for the petrol, so I made my friends take me places...

Tell us two things about Shahid Kapoor we don’t know.

Now this is really going to put you off! I go to sleep in very old boxers and torn tees because I find them comfortable. And one more thing, I take lots and lots of photographs. I click away on the sets because my life is on the sets.

What is Shahid the man like?

I’m simple yet complicated. A lot of things are always inside me. I’m passionate about work to the point of madness.

What’s your biggest weakness as an actor?

I get bored of myself very easily. Sometimes a bit too fast. I can’t do the same thing again and again. That’s bad in a way because if you’re good in a romantic role, you should build on that. And if you’re good in action films, you should do more of that.

What’s your weirdest fan interaction?

You know, I have these parents coming up to me, carrying their kids. Sometimes they can just be three or four months old. And the parents ask for my autograph. They always say ‘Hamare liye nahin, bachche ke liye mang rahen hein!’

Do you get upset when we keep writing about you and Priyanka?

Not at all. I’ll tell you a story. Once, when I was with Shiamak Davar, we were rehearsing for an international competition. We were practising a very difficult routine 15 times at a stretch! At the end, I was just plain numb. That’s the way I feel now about rumours – plain numb. And, before you ask, I’m not in a relationship! Okaaay Shahid, we get the point!

The whole eight packs

Shahid Kapoor on his eight-pack look for Chance:

'I’m in better shape today than I was for Kaminey! That song, where I show off my stomach, is the moment of glory for my character.' It has to look larger than life because finally he is successful.

'But it was very very tough getting those muscles. I had to give up everything I love for a year – no sweets, low carbs, very hectic workouts. My life became all about oats and muesli and brown rice!'