Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor is a famous Indian Bollywood actor. He was born on February 25, 1981 in New Delhi. He is the son of Bollywood actors Pankaj Kapoor and Neelima Azeem. Shahid Kapoor's parents separated when he was three. Later, he moved to Mumbai when has was 10 years old. He then joined the famous dance academy of choreographer Shiamak Davar. He was seen as a background dancer in some films of 1990s, including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Taal. He was also featured in television commercials and music videos. The debut film of Shahid Kapoor was Ishq Vishq, a 2003 romantic comedy. Shahid won a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for the movie. He appeared in many roles in several commercial failures before starring in the family drama, Vivah, a 2006 movie opposite Amrita Rao by Sooraj Barjatya. After Udta Punjab in 2016, Shahid Kapoor was seen in the film Rangoon in 2017, in which he costarred with Kangana Ranaut and Saif Ali Khan. His next 2017 film is Padmavati, in which he plays a leading role opposite Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh.

Shahid Kapoor was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for playing the role of a troubled businessman in Jab We Met, an Imtiaz Ali's 2007 romantic comedy. He also played a lead role in Vishal Bhardwaj's caper thriller Kaminey (2009). In 2013, he starred in action film, after appearing in another series of box office flops, he starred in the action film R... Rajkumar. In the year 2014, Shahid Kapoor portrayed the character of Hamlet in Haider, a Bhardwaj's acclaimed drama. He bagged the Best Actor award at Filmfare for Haider. In the year 2016, he played a character of drug abusing singer in the movie Udta Punjab.

Shahid Kapoor is the recipient of many awards, including two Filmfare Awards. Shahid Kapoor also supports charities. He is not only involved in acting, but also hosts award ceremonies. He was seen as a talented judge on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded in the year 2015. In the same year, Shahid Kapoor got married to Mira Rajput, a student from New Delhi. Mira Rajput gave birth to a baby girl, Misha Kapoor, in the year 2016.

Shahid Kapoor has won and was nominated for many awards. He has won BIG Star Most Entertaining Actor in a Thriller Film Male Award and BIG Star Most Entertaining Film Actor - Male for the movie Haider in the year 2014.

In the year 2004, he won Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for Ishq Vishk and Filmfare Best Actor Award for Jab We Met in 2008. In the year 2104, a journalist Dave Besseling of GQ said that Shahid Kapoor is a "friendly, chirpy, affable frat boy type. Someone youd want to play video games with on a Sunday, but keep the hell away from your sister". Nevertheless, many media houses labelled Shahid Kapoor a loner and described him as an egotistical and unpredictable.

A journalist of Mumbai Mirror, Vickey Lalwani wrote in his article in the year 2012 that this apparent media image stalled certain filmmakers from approaching him for various roles. After this scene, Shahid Kapoor gave a remark that "I just dont socialise much, I dont party too much, I dont know what to say to the media if I am not talking about a film that I am doing, so yeah, maybe I am perceived as a snob.An online entertainment portal, Bollywood Hungama in its publication, stated that Shahid Kapoor has a boy next door persona which was initially perceived by the critics as a weakness.

But, later this attributed for turning it into a trademark. Filmfares Jitesh Pillai had written that after gaining appreciation in romantic roles, Shahid Kapoor defied stereotyping by taking on various parts in action films and crime dramas. After the movie Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009) got success, Shahid Kapoors career declined; he named this phase a phase of "wrong choices". He said that taking on a challenging role in the movie Haider in the year 2014 has helped him in reinventing himself.

The journalist of The Indian Express, Sonam Gera stated that the movie established him in Bollywood. Her book, titled Power of a Common Man, authored by Koral Dasgupta states that Shahid Kapoor does not conform to any fixed rules of the trades. In addition to that, she wrote that despite having a skewed success ratio at the box office, Shahid Kapoor continues to be a popular among the audiences. Shahid Kapoor is a popular celebrity. He has a significant number of followers on Twitter and Instagram. Shahid Kapoor is considered as one of the most attractive male celebrities in India. He is featured in a British magazine Eastern Eye which has listed him among the "50 Sexiest Asian Men in the World".

In the year 2012 and 2013, Shahid Kapoor was ranked fourth, and in the year 2014 he bagged the fifth position. Shahid Kapoor was ranked fifth on the list of 50 most desirable men in the year 2014 by The Times of India. Shahid Kapoor was also placed among the top 10 in the year 2012, 2013 and 2015. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) named Shahid Kapoor the sexiest vegetarian man of India and Asia Pacific in the year 2009 and 2011, respectively.

From the period between 2012 and 2015, Shahid Kapoor was featured among the top 50 in the Forbes Indian edition under the list of "Celebrity 100". It is a list that is based on the popularity and income of celebrities of India, peaking at the 15th position in the year 2015. Shahid Kapoor is the celebrity ambassador for many renowned products and brands, Colgate, Samsung and Elf Aquitaine, to name a few.

Photo courtesy: GQ India.