Shahid Kapoor's latest film Deva is hitting theatres on January 31. Ahead of the release, the actor told fans at the film's trailer launch that the film gave him his most challenging role yet.
Deva marks the Hindi debut of Malayalam director Rosshan Andrrews, known in Kerala for such hits as Udhayananu Tharam, Mumbai Police, and Kayamkulam Kochunni.
Produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur in collaboration with Zee Studios, Deva has Shahid essaying an unconventional, 'angry young man' cop. It is based on a script co-written by Bobby–Sanjay, Abbas Dalal, Hussain Dalal, Arshad Syed, and Sumit Arora from a story by Bobby-Sanjay, the writing duo behind the acclaimed Malayalam films such as Traffic, Ayalum Njanum Thammil and Uyare.
“This is the most complex character I’ve played; having said that, I’ve played a few," said Kapoor, adding that his character in Deva made him wonder if he could pull it off. "Roshan created this character and we both developed this year for a year and then shot for it,” said Kapoor, who became a household name with the films Haider, Kabir Singh, Jersey, and Jab We Met.
Being an actor who tried his hand at characters of various temperaments, Kapoor said he is always looking for roles that challenge him.
"I'm always looking to do something that lets you grow and takes you to another level as an artist. I can’t do just anything; I’ve to do things as per the story and character requirement, and I know I would hopefully do well," he added. "There’s an overwhelming personality to Deva that gives him that charisma and star quality, so it needed to be a combination of both those elements.”