Shahid Kapoor says he wanted to play Khilji in 'Padmaavat'

Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor has said he would have played the role of Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khilji differently than Ranveer Singh in Padmaavat.

Shahid Kapoor plays the role of Maharawal Ratan Singh in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s latest epic drama alongide Deepika Padukone, who essays Rani Padmavati.

When asked if wished to play Khilji, Shahid said:

“Of course. Which actor would not wish to play a character like Khilji in a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film? You know, once on Koffee with Karan, Ranveer said he would have done my role in Kaminey better than me… I would have done Khilji differently.”

However, when asked how different would his approach have been to play Khilji, Shahid said:

“Firstly, I do not want to get into those details. Always remember, Sanjay Leela Bhansali is the hero of all his films and we actors come second.

“So whether it is the loud and larger than life character of Khilji or the subtleness of Ratan Singh, everything was governed by Sanjay. So, this is his vision. What I just said about performing differently, is because we are two different actors and our style of acting is different.”

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Shahid was also asked about his interaction with Ranveer on the set of Padmaavat.

“I was Rawal Ratan Singh, who doesn’t react much, so I underplayed on the set as well. I was in my zone, listening to music in between the scenes.”

According to Shahid working with a talented actor like Ranveer made him put his best foot forward too.

“The dynamics of two characters — Khilji and Maharawal Ratan Singh — was quite interesting for an actor to play. I would say that the scenes between me and Ranveer were some of the best in the film. So, I got that adrenaline rush to up my game to get all the scenes right. It improves our performance.”

The story of Padmaavat revolves around three characters – Queen Padmavati, Maharawal Ratan Singh and Sultan Alauddin Khilji.

The film was released on January 25 and it has already crossed 150 crores at the box office despite not being released in few states due to protests by the fringe group Rajput Karni Sena which alleged that the film had distorted history.