JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Batti Gul Meter Chalu, Udta Punjab, Haider: When Shahid Kapoor tackled relevant social issues with his films
Shahid Kapoor has tackled many relevant social issues with films like Haider (2014), Udta Punjab (2016) and his latest outing Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018). Let's take a look at these movies in detail.
When it comes to conventional roles, look no further than Bollywood's very own Shahid Kapoor. The actor, who started off as the chocolate boy hero exceeded expectations with his impeccable performances in movies like Kaminey (2009), Haider (2014) and Udta Punjab (2016), just to name a few. He completely immerses himself and becomes one with the character. The best part about Shahid's films is not just that his acting skills are put on display, but it has creative content as well. On several occasions, Shahid's films have a ton of social relevance in them.
Let's look at Haider for example. The film was a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet and dealt with the 1995 insurgency in Kashmir. As director Vishal Bhardwaj masterfully pointed out, Haider sees Kashmir from the inside. Given the recent conflict over Kashmir, Haider was like tragic poetry to showcase the current scenario of the beautiful country. Shahid, as Haider, was at his peak during his vicious 4-minute theatre play act through the song Bismil and artistically showcased the plight of Kashmir.
Then there was also Udta Punjab, which was a victim of the censor board but reigned supreme and deservedly so. Udta Punjab tackled the social issue of the rampant consumption of drugs amongst the youth and the after-effects, specifically in the state of Punjab. Shahid as Tommy Singh shows us the dark side of a musician's life when influenced by drugs.
His latest outing is Batti Gul Meter Chalu, which is all set to release this Friday i.e. September 21, 2018. In Shahid's own words, "Batti Gul Meter Chalu specifically deals with the issue of very high bills, many a time inappropriate bills, meters that are not functioning properly and the consequences of all that on the common man."
When it comes to starring in socially relevant movies, Shahid shared EXCLUSIVELY with Pinkvilla, "I feel very fortunate that this film came to me and I could participate in it. I have done a couple of films that dealt with social issues like Haider and Udta Punjab. Well, Batti Gul Meter Chalu is more accessible and is for families."
