Shahid Kapoor recalls living in ‘rented houses’ with single mom Neelima, was too ‘proud’ to ask dad Pankaj Kapur for help: ‘She was struggling’

He continued, “I didn’t have a relationship with my father where I would allow myself to ask him… I had a great relationship with him, but I didn’t want to ask… That’s not how I wanted to do it. He was always there for advice and guidance, but I wanted to do it on my own. I was very proud. This was the only route for me.”

Shahid said that it is his responsibility as an adult to identify the ‘issues’ he experienced as a child and to try and rectify them. “Whatever little I’ve understood of psychology or human behaviour, in my own journey, it goes back to your childhood. The adult version of you is able to logically resolve your issues. But it’s the child who didn’t have the analytical capability to fix yourself. That child still has issues, and you, as an adult, need to go back and fix his issues. And once those issues get fixed, things will change dramatically,” he said.

Describing himself as a ‘unique specimen’, Shahid continued, “I was always an outsider. I still don’t feel like I’m completely on the inside. I’m a bit of a unique specimen… The first thing you want as an outsider is acceptance, and when you come from a middle-class background, I didn’t have that kind of exposure to fashion, or makeup artists, to producers, directors, journalists. I knew nothing about nothing. I just came in and my first film did really well.”

In his career, Shahid has appeared in major hits such as Jab We Met, Padmaavat, and Kabir Singh. He will next be seen in the film Deva. He has worked with his father on films such as Mausam, Jersey, and Shaandaar.