Happy Birthday Shahid Kapoor: Ishq Vishk director Ken Ghosh recalls the moment the actor became a star

As Shahid Kapoor turns a year older on Feb 25, Ken Ghosh, the director of his debut film Ishq Vishq, shares his experience of working with the actor.

It was the second day of Ishq Vishk’s (2003) release, and director Ken Ghosh and actor Shahid Kapoor went for a 3 o’clock show at Liberty Cinema, Mumbai. After all, the film marked their debut, and both wanted to find out the reaction from the audience.

Filmmaker Ken Ghosh says that he is currently working on a web series.(Yogen Shah/HT)

“After the movie got over, we stood outside the theatre to get a feel and people recognised Shahid, and he got mobbed. So we had to run and go into the manager’s cabin. I will never forget that incident. Shahid became a star that day,” says Ken. The filmmaker says that this is the memory that makes him smile every time he thinks about starting his journey with the actor.

Shahid Kapoor made his acting debut in Bollywood with Ken Ghosh’s Ishq Vishk in 2003.

It was the time when a lot of fresh talent was stepping into the industry and Ken shares that Shahid made sure he gave his ‘200%’ to everything. “The film was an honest effort and Shahid lived up to everyone’s expectations. He was raw at that time, and in the film he was in every frame, so he had to work the most. Plus, the film was made on a tight budget, and one needs to squeeze in a lot of work. And Shahid was more than happy to help. He was not just an actor on the set, but also helping the crew,” says the filmmaker.

“Over the years, I have only seen him grow and mature as an actor. I saw that talent there in the first couple of months while working on the film. You are either an actor or not, it should come from within. What you can learn is the craft. Shahid was always an actor, he just honed his skills. He was fantastic in Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009),” he adds.

Recalling more memories from the making of the film, Ken begins with how he would love to collaborate with him again. “I am really happy for him, he has grown from strength to strength. Shahid’s passion was addictive on the set. He was too thin so I was in two minds whether he would be good enough as Rajiv but he took time, bulked up and came back all ready to roll. Now, even his brother Ishaan [Khatter] has started doing films. He was six or seven back then and used to be there on the set, play with my son, who was his age. He will soon make his [Hindi film] debut (Karan Johar’s Dhadak). Fingers crossed.”

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