Shahid Kapoor is no stranger to complex characters and yet he considers his cop character in “Deva” to be the most challenging performance of his career.
The action thriller revolves around a rebellious police officer (Kapoor) who is tasked with solving a high-profile case, uncovering layers of deception, betrayal and a dangerous conspiracy.
The film is directed by renowned Malayalam director Roshan Andrews, known for blockbuster films like “Salute” and “Kayamkulam Kochunni”.
“This is the most complex character I have played, it can be said that I have played few characters. But if there is one character who has challenged me again to ask myself whether I am capable of doing this or not, it is Deva.
Kapoor, known for films like “Haider”, “Kabir Singh”, “Jersey” and “Jab We Met”, said, “Roshan created this character and we both developed it for a year and then Shot it.”
The 43-year-old actor was speaking at the trailer launch of “Deva”, which stars Pooja Hegde as an investigative journalist and Pavail Gulati as a fellow policeman.
Kapoor said that he is always keen to do roles that help him grow as an artist, and “Deva” feels like an ideal opportunity.
“As an actor, you always want to do something that develops you and takes you to another level as an artiste. I can’t do anything, I have to do things as per the requirement of the story and character and I know I will perform well.
“After some time, I got a chance to do something as an actor that I would be happy with. Deva has a great personality that gives him charisma and star quality, so it needed to be a combination of both those elements. ” He added.
Andrews said that the action sequences in “Deva” are designed in such a way that it doesn’t feel like he added them just for the sake of it.
“I always believe in myself, my instincts and I am not bothered about what is happening in other (action) films. I wrote all the action sequences of ‘Deva’ myself. The action is part of the script and story structure, it’s not like we added action sequences just for the sake of it,” said the director.
Hegde, who plays a journalist, called her character an “alpha female”.
“You guys need a lot of guts and courage to do the work that you are doing. Diya is perfect for the character of Deva. You guys have seen the alpha male many times but now the time has come to see the alpha female. She’s not afraid to speak her mind, she’s not afraid to say what she’s feeling, she’s courageous and she’s a girl today,” she said.
Gulati said that he had been such a fan of Kapoor that he followed in his footsteps and joined Shiamak Davar’s dance academy.
The actor expressed gratitude to producer Siddharth Roy Kapur for offering him work after the release of his acclaimed film “Thappad”, saying, “Our bromance onscreen was great as we got along so well off-screen.”
To a question about box office pressure, Kapoor said who doesn’t want to be a part of a successful film.
“We make films for the audience and if they do not come to watch the film, then it hurts, we have failed and we will fail. But the effort is always to show the film to as many people as possible.
“If you make a film thinking about how many people will watch it, you will be limited as a creative person. So, you can run in a 100 meter race where you only make films which are working at the box office but if you want to survive in the long run you have to evolve, you have to do different things , Kapoor further said.
Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films in association with Zee Studios, the film will hit the screens on January 31.
(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, there have been no edits to the copy by ABP Live.)
