Shahid Kapoor has impressed his audience over the years with films like Kabir Singh, Jab We Met, Jersey, Haider, among many others. While many loved him as Prem in Vivah and Aditya Kashyap in Jab We Met, he also gained a massive following for his acting in Haider and Kabir Singh. His journey started with his debut film Ishq Vishq (2003) but not many know that back in the day, Shahid actually went by the name Shahid Khatter. In a recent interview, veteran producer Ramesh Taurani recalled seeing a great actor in him after watching his music video “Aankhon Mein Tera Hi Chehra”.
Ramesh Taurani shared that he didn’t know Shahid was actor Pankaj Kapur’s son as he didn’t use the veteran actor’s surname. He shared with News18 Showsha, “I had no clue Shahid was Pankaj Kapur’s son. His name was earlier Shahid Khatter and not Kapoor. In the film, he changed it to Kapoor.” After separating from Pankaj, Shahid’s mother Neliima Azeem married actor Rajesh Khattar. Ishaan Khattar, Shahid’s younger half-brother is the son of Rajesh.
Ramesh further said, “He had made a music video, ‘Aankhon Mein Tera Hi Chehra’. He was quite young then. I guess just 17-18 years old. When I had watched the video, I asked my team to make me meet this guy whenever they can. He came to meet me after about a month and half. After meeting him, I told him, ‘You are very good. And I think you can become a good actor. But you are looking too young, so I think you should wait, but you will get a good launch’.”
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Ramesh recalled that Shahid “used to call me every three months” and shared that he was offered a film called Style, which was being made by N Chandra. “Shahid infomed me and I was like, ‘Very good, you should do it’. He later came to me and said, ‘Sir, I didn’t take it up, because it was a two-hero movie.’ I was like, ‘okay, I will let you know if I have something for you'”, he added. Style eventually starred Sharman Joshi and Sahil Khan.
Recalling how Ishq Vishq happened, the veteran producer said that director Ken Ghosh shared a few ideas with him and he really liked the idea for this film and as soon as he heard it, he knew Shahid would be a good fit. Revealing what he saw in Shahid, Ramesh said, “What I thought about Shahid after having watched his music video is that he is very innocent and when you cast a hero, that innocence should always be there. If you notice it, you will see the actors who have innocent look are the ones who make it big in the industry. Be it Salman Khan, or Ajay Devgn.”
Ishq Vishk, which was a college rom-com, was a strong start for Shahid Kapoor. He recently completed 21 years in the movie business.
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