How Shahid Reinvented Himself From The Boy Next Door To A Box Office Delight

As Shahid Kapoor aka Sasha turns 35 today, we look back at his film journey which changed drastically from a mushy Ishq Vishq to the intense Haider.

Besides being cute, Shahid Kapoor certainly has a 'boy-next-door' charm about him that makes girls fawn over him all the time. Born in Delhi, Shahid studied in  Delhi for the first few years of his childhood, and later shifted to Mumbai with his family.

Image Credit: pinkvilla

The reason he is so natural before the camera might be that he's been used to the lens since he was a kid. He appeared in many commercials as a child actor. Here, in this not-so-clear picture, he is seen with Ayesha Takia for a Complan TVC.

Image Credit: colorlibrary.blogspot.com

Dancing is his passion, and he started taking dance lessons when he turned 15.

He danced with the Shiamak Davar troupe and appears in films like ‘Taal’ and ‘Dil Toh Paagal Hai’ as a side dancer.

But it was a music video by a band called ‘Aryans’ which made Shahid immensely popular. He appeared in the song ‘Aankhon Mein Tera Hi Chehra’ as the adolescent teenager in love and nailed it!

He went on to make his debut with ‘Ishq Vishq’ as the cute Rajiv Mathur. The film was a super hit and earned him a Filmfare for Best Debut.

The high was short-lived with duds like ‘Fida’, ‘Dil Maange More’, ‘Deewane Huye Paagal’, ‘Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi!’ , ‘Shikhar’, and ‘36 China Town’, which did not work at the box office, but earned him tons of fans nonetheless. He also started dating Kareena Kapoor after 36 China Town.

Then came Vivaah, a Sooraj Barjatya film, where he played a handsome, soft-spoken Prem who falls for the sundar, susheel Poonam, played by Amrita Rao. The film raked in great moolah, making it one of the biggest commercial successes of the year.

Imtiaz Ali's 'Jab We Met' was another feather in his cap.

Cut to Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Kaminey’ where Shahid broke the stereotype by playing a double role. He played a criminal with a lisp and a social activist who stutters. The film was also in the limelight as it made Priyanka Chopra and him a couple.

Shahid looked dapper as Sq. Leader in ‘Mausam’, a film directed by his father. However, the film tanked at the box-office.

Post ‘Mausam’ came forgettable films like ‘Teri Meri Kahaani’, ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’, ‘R..Rajkumar’. Shahid was therefore accused of picking up wrong movies and of making career mistakes.

And, then came Haider where he silenced all critics by playing a rugged, dark character. Based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Hamlet’ it got Shahid the stardom he truly deserved.

Here's a pic from his Instagram account, which will make Shanatics (Shahid fanatics are called Shanatics!) drool.

It's pony day! 😜

A photo posted by Shahid Kapoor (@shahidkapoor) on Feb 11, 2015 at 3:06am PST