Shahid Kapoor says he hated being called cute: ‘Why would you say that to anybody?’

Shahid, who is the son of actors Pankaj Kapur and Neliima Azeem, made his Bollywood debut as a dancer in Subhash Ghai’s Taal (1999). Four years later, he made his debut as a lead actor in Ishq Vishk (2003) and won a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for his performance. Since then Shahid has worked in films such as Vivah, Jab We Met, Kaminey, Padmaavat and Kabir Singh, among others. He spoke about being seen as ‘cute’ as he reflected on his acting career in a new interview.

“I hate that word Vanilla. You know, I used to hate it when people say ‘Oh you are cute’. I hate it. I was like ‘Why would you say that to anybody.’ I never liked that word. I have learned to be graceful and accept it now, that people throw it at me. But I just felt that it is very limiting,” Shahid told Pinkvilla.

Speaking about his role in Farzi, Shahid said ‘some of his personal angst’ is attached to Sunny, his character in the web series. He said, “I am attracted to unconventional characters. You have to be an artist, which is what Farzi is all about. So, I think some of my personal angst is attached to Sunny in Farzi. And I wanted to express myself, you know. I wanted people to see my soul, to understand my emotions, to experience my mind, and not just stay busy with what is outside. That’s important, it matters.”

In Farzi, Shahid stars as Sunny, an artist who turns to counterfeit money in order to save his grandfather’s printing press. The series also features Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, Regina Cassandra, and Bhuvan Arora.

In another recent interview, Shahid had said that films like Jab We Met (2007) can only happen once in two decades. He also said he would like to work with director Imtiaz Ali on another romantic film. His upcoming projects include Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bloody Daddy and an untitled film with Kriti Sanon.