Having worked with veterans as well as new film directors, Shahid Kapoor, who will next be seen in Shree Narayan Singh's "Batti Gul Meter Chalu", says the number of hits and flops of a director is not his parameter to judge ones talent.
Singh has earlier directed two films, his latest being Akshay's "Toilet - Ek Prem Katha".
"I think talent should not be judged by an individual's achievement because I believe that success of a film has nothing to do with how talented the storyteller is. If a filmmaker has given two back-to-back commercially successful film as opposed to a debutant who has lesser visibility of his work, that does not make the new filmmaker a lesser talented one," Shahid told IANS in an interview.
"So when I collaborate with a film director, I do not just go by the success of his last film. It is for all creative people, who are at times at their best form, at times not. But that is not to do with their talent. As an actor, when I commit to a script, I do it with the best of my ability," added the actor, who has done critically acclaimed films like "Kaminey", "Haider" and "Rangoon" with Vishal Bhardwaj.
Asked if his parameter of judging a script has changed with experience, Shahid said: "Yes. Now I do not just look at the matter from a singular point of view. I try to find out the potential of the final product, and how with each step of filmmaking, it can grow to become a great film."
"Only a good story idea cannot be enough to make a great piece of cinema. There is a process of execution. I see if that is also in good hands," added the actor, who delivered a well appreciated performance with the young filmmaker Abhishek Chaubey in "Udta Punjab", which also starred Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh and Kareena Kapoor Khan.
Will he be a part of another multi-starrer like that?
"The fact is I tend to change my look completely in each film that I do, so whenever I am signing a film, I want to invest my full energy to that. Changing my look vastly, only for four-five scenes in a film, would be too much. Having said that, I am open to the idea of a meaty role in a multi-starrer," he said.
While objectifying women in item songs is one of the common practices in most of the commercial Bollywood films, being a father of a daughter, does he make a conscious choice not to be a part of such films?
"Why do I have to be a father of a girl child to decide that? Don't I have a mother, sister and wife? I do not think these two things are co-related," the actor answered promptly.
"Batti Gul Meter Chalu", also featuring Shraddha Kapoor, is slated to release on September 21.