Last Updated:November 30, 2025, 20:17 IST

Shahid Kapoor reveals he initially asked “Why me?” when Abhishek Chaubey offered him Udta Punjab, admitting he was unsure about taking on such an intense, unconventional role.

Shahid Kapoor says he asked “Why me?” when Abhishek Chaubey offered him Udta Punjab.

Shahid Kapoor is one of the most loved actors in the industry. While for the longest time Shahid was known for his chocolate-boy image, he broke the stereotype by playing the lead in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Kabir Singh and Abhishek Chaubey’s Udta Punjab. When Shahid Kapoor played Tommy in Udta Punjab, fans were taken aback by his new look. Now, speaking at IFP 15, the actor spoke about doing the character.

Shahid Kapoor on doing Udta Punjab

Talking in a session at IFP, Shahid shared, “My first question to Chaubey (Abhishek Chaubey) was why are you coming to me? I don’t drink. I’ve never been high; I don’t know how to do this. So this is as far away from my reality as it can get, and he said, but I think you’re a good actor, and if you’re a good actor, you should be able to do something which you have not done in your life. In the beginning, the only way I could start was when he shared a lot of footage with me because I think we wanted to talk about addiction and the rock star aspect of Tommy. We had no holds barred, lived that nocturnal life for 40 days.”

“I think most of the film was at night, and I was eating very little food, surviving a lot on black coffee. He was one of the most experimental characters that I’ve played, and it’s unreal,” Kapoor further added.

About Udta Punjab

Udta Punjab was produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Sameer Nair, and Aman Gill under Balaji Motion Pictures in association with Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, and Vikramaditya Motwane under Phantom Films.

Udta Punjab 2 in the works?

In March, a report in Peeping Moon stated that producer Ekta Kapoor is planning a sequel to Udta Punjab, and is keen on bringing Shahid Kapoor back for the lead role. She has reportedly roped in Aakash Kaushik to write and direct the sequel. An industry insider told the portal that Udta Punjab 2 is currently in the writing phase, and that production is slated to commence next year. “The team plans to approach actors once the script is finalized, but Ekta is keen on bringing Shahid back. She has reportedly had preliminary discussions with him, but formal talks are yet to take place,” said the source.