20 Best Shahid Kapoor Movies And Where To Watch Them
Shahid Kapoor has displayed some amazing versatility as one of post-2000s Bollywood’s dynamic faces. While Kapoor started out with light-hearted romantic comedies, he began experimenting with his craft from the late 2000s onwards. This is perhaps visible in his physical transformation as well. Once sporting a boyish, clean-shaven look, Kapoor grew out a rough stubble and experimented with hairstyles in many of his morally complex roles.
The neo-noir Kaminey perfectly summed up his duality as Kapoor played identical twin brothers, one of them being a scruffy-looking hustler and the other a more well-groomed and naive do-gooder. The film marked a turning point in his career as he proved his worth in gritty adult dramas.
He would reunite with Kaminey director Vishal Bhardwaj for Haider, a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Sporting a buzzcut and a distinct scar, Kapoor’s performance was simultaneously emotional, frightening, and revelatory.
Haider was followed by the equally dark and controversial drug-centric drama Udta Punjab. Playing a cocaine-addicted Punjabi rapper, Kapoor’s Tommy Singh evoked a fearful side of fame and showbiz. But talking about controversy, his most headline-making role has to be the titular antihero in Kabir Singh. Playing an obsessive, short-tempered alcoholic lover, the movie divided audiences and critics over its notions of toxic love and broke records at the box office.
The Other Side of Shahid Kapoor’s Movies
While Kapoor has his fair share of morally ambiguous protagonists, you can also watch him play some righteous and wholesome heroes. This is evident in Jab We Met, director Imtiaz Ali’s breakout movie that toyed around with the notions of an average Bollywood romance. Kapoor played a soft-spoken heir to a company, a contrast to Kareena Kapoor’s bubbly heroine, in this subversive boy-meets-girl story.
Even in period settings, Kapoor can evoke heroism as is evident from his understated performance in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s historical epic Padmaavat. While Ranveer Singh took the spotlight as the overzealous invader Allaudin Khalji, Kapoor played an honour-striving royal king Ratan Singh.
Why is Haider Shahid Kapoor’s best movie?
Haider is a movie that brings out the best out of its supporting cast as well as a career-best performance from its leading man. Doubling as writer and director, Vishal Bhardwaj offers his unique twist to the Bard’s Hamlet by changing the setting from medieval Denmark to military-ruled Kashmir. Delving into the socio-political landscape of India’s most troubled state and merging it with a son’s revenge for his dead father, Bhardwaj and Kapoor conjured a hauntingly beautiful drama that still goes down as one of Bollywood’s finest thrillers.
If you are willing to go down the rabbit hole of Kapoor’s multi-genre movies, we have a definitive list for you on where you can find where to stream, buy or rent cult classics like Jab We Met, Udta Punjab, Haider and a lot more.
