Shahid Kapoor: Working as co-actors gives my father and me more time to be together – Times of India

For the world, he’s a stellar actor. For Shahid Kapoor, he’s dad. Pankaj Kapur has worked with his first-born in different capacities over the last several years. Before becoming an actor, Shahid, after moving base to Mumbai, had assisted his father on TV shows, Drishtaant and Mohandas B.A.L.L.B. Shahid played the male protagonist in Mausam, Pankaj’s debut as a movie director. The father-son duo has also acted together in Shaandaar, and the yet-to-release, Jersey, which also stars Mrunal Thakur.

In a recent chat with Bombay Times, Shahid spoke about the equation he shares with his father on and off-screen. “I have not assisted my father for too long but it was an experience which I cherish. Today, he’s in his 60s and I’m in my 40s. We’re both grown-ups. We understand each other. We have a chill vibe and we do our own things. Working as co-actors in films gives my father and me more time to be together. Shooting schedules are times when we can sit together after pack-up, see each other every day and be together. We’re both in a profession where we’re often away from home for work for long periods. You don’t get to see your family so often. I always look at him as a student subconsciously, even when we are in a shot together,” Shahid said, adding, “When we are working together, I have to focus on my work more than anything else. I have to zone into it completely. The only way to express your respect for an actor like Pankaj Kapur is focussing on your own work and not being distracted, even by him, in the said shot. If you start looking at what others are doing, you don’t focus on your work and in turn, you might also end up spoiling someone else’s portions in the scene. So, I pay that respect to an actor like my father by completely being in sync with my character and by being thoroughly prepared for my scene.”