New Delhi: It is an actor’s skills and not his looks that define him, according to veteran actor Pankaj Kapur. He has said that he recognised his son Shahid Kapoor’s potential when people in the film industry only saw him as a ‘chocolate hero’.
Shahid, who made his Hindi film debut with 2003’s Ishq Vishk, established himself as a leading man with romantic comedies and dramas like Fida, Chup Chup Ke, Vivah and Jab We Met, among others.
“… Not just because he (Shahid Kapoor) is my son, but as a colleague, as an actor, I could see the potential in him even 10 years back at the time when he was only being judged as a good-looking chocolate hero,” Pankaj, 65, said.
While Shahid received mixed reviews for his latest Kabir Singh, his father was all praise for his performance and said people have now started recognising his ability to act.
“I said it 10 years back that Shahid is a dramatic actor and as time will pass, people will see his ability. And now suddenly people have started recognising – ‘oh he can do this, he can do that’. When an actor gets an opportunity to do things only then can he prove his mettle,” the Maqbool actor said.
According to Pankaj, it is the ability of a person as an actor that ‘sustains him rather than anything else’.
“We have had examples in our industry of people working for 30-40 years because of their ability to act. Your looks leave you after a point, you don’t look the same way you did when you were in your 20s or 30s,” pointed out Pankaj. “After that you have only your ability to show,” he added.
The father-son duo has worked together in Shaandaar and Mausam, which Kapur also directed.
Agencies