Exclusive | Shahid Kapoor says Jersey failure broke his heart: ‘The universe was not kind’

Shahid Kapoor recently made his digital debut with Farzi. (Photo: Shahid/Instagram)

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Exclusive | Shahid Kapoor says Jersey failure broke his heart: ‘The universe was not kind’

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Shahid Kapoor is currently basking in the success of his debut web show Farzi. The Prime Video original sees him play a young man, who decides to print counterfeit notes, leading him to get sucked into the world of crime. In a chat with indianexpress.com, Shahid discussed how the success of the show has been cathartic given he was healing a broken heart after the failure of Jersey. The film saw multiple delays due to Covid-19 and finally released last year in April, only to tank at the box office.

“It just broke my heart. It was a really beautiful film and I feel the universe was not kind to us. The songs were out, the film was pushed for four months. The universe was not kind. With Jersey I realised that films are like fast food, one has to consume it at that moment. If you wait, uska mazaa chala jaata hai. We haven’t ever faced such a scenario, a pandemic, so we didn’t know how to go about it. And unfortunately, the film had to suffer,” he shared.

Shahid also added that this is why Farzi doing so well has made him ‘really really happy’. “I also feel that we didn’t do justice to the film. We could have made better choices. I don’t know, some things are meant to be a certain way. Even when you have control over things, there’s sometimes no control.”

Also Read | Farzi review: Inimitable Vijay Sethupathi livens up show that is in service to its star Shahid Kapoor, not its plot

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As he is enjoying the love that he’s garnering across the globe for his web show, does he think he made the switch a little too late. There have been a number of Bollywood stars, who have already moved to OTT and his entry came when the space was already crowded. He quickly questioned whether any ‘film hero’ has really come on OTT. Given names like Saif Ali Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn, he answered, “Accha, main late hogaya yaar.”

“Honestly, I wanted to try my hands on long formats for a long time,” he answered. “I have been watching it and being hooked on to shows. I have binged watched them. It also gives different opportunities as an actor. It was never about first or second or even late. I think in my generation of actors, I am probably the first, and thus it didn’t even register that others have done shows. For me, it was all about doing a good show, with good people. And I think this was something that resonates with the artist in me.”

Also Read | Farzi breakout star Bhuvan Arora says never received ‘this degree’ of love before: ‘Was locked for huge films that never happened’

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The actor is also set to complete two decades in the industry as Ishq Vishk completes 20 years in May. When asked about his journey and how he has evolved as an actor and person, Shahid said, “It has been a huge learning curve. A lot in me has changed but the fundamentals have remained the same. I just feel like the innocence with which you started, it comes and goes with every project. But one has to hold on to that, to be able to carry on. I keep it at the forefront. I also believe in always being a student as that will only help you evolve and keep the fire alive.”

Directed by Raj and DK, Farzi also stars Vijay Sethupathi, Raashii Khanna, Kaykay Menon and Bhuvan Arora.