The journey of Padmaavat started the day it was entitled ‘Padmavati’. With no stone unturned, Bhansali has won the millions of hearts with the glorified past of Rajputs. After a lot of protests and a long wait, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmaavat has finally hit screens on January 25.
Shahid Kapoor played the role of the valiant Rajput king ‘Ratan Singh’, while Deepika played the lead role ‘Rani Padmini’, and it is Ranveer Singh who donned the ultimate ‘Alauddin Khilji’ role. Soon after the movie released, Ranveer bagged all the attention followed by Deepika, and it is Shahid who was deserted both in terms of shooting and post-release moments.
After playing the lead in Goliyon Ki Raasleela: Ram Leela and Bajirao Mastani, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have developed a certain level of comfort and understanding with filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. So when the time came for their third collaboration with Padmaavat, the taskmaster, who enjoys a reputation for being difficult to work with, had widely established that Ranveer and Deepika are one of his favorite muses.
Shahid was upset with the way he and his work was treated and opened up about his views in a press meet. Shahid said, “I’m used to being the favorite of all my filmmakers. This was the first time that I was like an outsider. When you work with a team that has worked together, you are kind of an outsider and it takes time for you to break through that barrier.”
Shahid went saying that one cannot compare his role with Ranveer. He admitted that his role is minor compared to Deepika and Ranveer’s. Shahid urged people not to compare his role with Ranveer, he then concluded that it was obviously a challenge for him to perform with the two stars who are donning the major roles in the film.
Reacting to the same, Ranveer reportedly said that he did his best to welcome him and be a supportive actor. However, it was Shahid’s first costume drama and it feels different from regular films.
“To be honest, I did my best to welcome him and did whatever I could do to be a supportive co-actor. But I think it’s got to do with the genre as well. I think Padmaavat is Shahid’s first costume drama and a costume drama has its own set of unique challenges which I had faced during Bajirao Mastani and it takes some time to get adapted to it. I think he’s reacting to that,” Ranveer said.
Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone have worked with director Sanjay Leela Bhansali in ‘Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ramleela’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’ earlier. However, this was the first time Shahid Kapoor worked with the ace filmmaker.
Meanwhile, the epic period drama has become a huge success at the box-office as the film went past Rs 200 crore collections in its 11-day run and still counting. There is certainly no stopping Padmaavat.