Shahid Kapoor on filming Padmaavat: I didn’t want to restrict Ranveer Singh in any way

Shahid Kapoor’s memories of his Padmaavat co-star hark back to 2011 when Shah Rukh Khan and he were hosting an award function. The same night, Ranveer Singh had bagged the trophy for the Best Debutant, thanks to his spirited acting in Band Baaja Baaraat.

Shahid had liked Ranveer’s performance in the film and was happy to see him win. He says, “There are two distinct memories. One is SRK and I were hosting an awards night and Ranveer had won the best debut honour. He came on the stage and started howling (smiles). SRK and I were holding on to him. I loved him in Band Baaja Baaraat, I think he was brilliant.”

The second memory is when they bumped into each other after dinner at a five-star hotel. Shahid recalls, “Ranveer, who was working round the clock, told me, ‘I’m finding it tiring to manage a shoot and training.’ I looked at him and said, ‘There are too many people who want to be where we are. Don’t complain, just be grateful’.”

Shahid is all praises for his acting prowess in Bajirao Mastani. He adds, “I don’t think anyone else could have played Bajirao like he did. No one could have done it better.”

He admits that though they played arch enemies in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, they shared a good rapport on the sets. Both, he and Ranveer knew each other socially, but this was the first time they were sharing screen space.  Shahid states, “It was great working with someone who was newer than me, but who was part of the core team. Even Deepika Padukone is newer than me. I have worked for four years more than her, but I knew her from before.” 

“Ranveer and I were a new team, so it took us a little time to get used to it,” Shahid says.

He attributes that their common love for music helped them build a rapport. Shahid laughs as he recalls their first encounter on set. “Ranveer loves to play his boombox loudly just before the shots to charge himself. One day, I went up to him and said, ‘Please, play it a little louder.’ And he was like, ‘Really?’ and I said, ‘Ya’ and that’s how our equation moved forward. I love music and I didn’t want him to feel as if he was being restricted in any way. So, I decided to participate. I know some people find it distracting, but I’ve enough experience to work around such things.”

No wonder, this indulgence from Maharawal Ratan Singh actually won Alauddin Khilji over.