Shahid Kapoor on film with Ali Abbas Zafar: It is ready, will come out this year

Actor Shahid Kapoor says his action film with “Tiger Zinda Hai” director Ali Abbas Zafar is complete and they are hoping to release the movie sometime this year. Presented by Jio Studios in association with Zafar’s AAZ Films, Offside Entertainment and The Vermillion World, the film is billed as a “stylised relentless action-packed ride”. Talking about the yet-untitled project, Shahid said the film is a departure from the “typical” action movies.

“Ali’s film is ready. It is a kind of action that I have not done before. It is new for me and him. It is an edgy action, not like the typical one, it has a quirk to it,” the actor, who has previously starred in action films such as “Kaminey” and “R… Rajkumar”, said.

“It (doing action) is very tiring and I have lost a lot of weight. I had a great time working on it. Ali and I have known each other for a decade and we decided to collaborate on this. It will come out this year,” Shahid told PTI.

Apart from Zafar’s film, the 41-year-old actor is set to make his OTT debut with a Prime Video series from The Family Man” creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK. The show is an interesting and exciting project, he said, calling it a “quirky crime drama”.

Last year, Shahid was also signed to play a paratrooper in an action film titled “Bull”, inspired by events from the life of Brigadier Bulsara. Set in the 1980s, the film marks the directorial debut of Aditya Nimbalkar, who has worked extensively with filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. The actor said the logistical details on “Bull” are still being worked out.

“‘Bull’ is still later in the future. It might not happen immediately. It’s just a few logistical things that need to be worked out. It is not on agenda right now,” he added. Shahid is currently awaiting the release of “Jersey”, a Hindi remake of National Award-winning Telugu sports drama of the same name. The actor said he is grateful for the varied offers coming his way today but it is difficult to find interesting opportunities all the time.

“I have a film coming out two-and-half years after a super successful film without having another release (in between). It is great for me,” he said.

“Jersey” is the actor’s first release since 2019’s “Kabir Singh” and the actor said he believes in doing “qualitative work”.

“You can only be good or better than the opportunity that is in front of you. I am thankful that opportunities are coming my way. It is difficult to find that consistently because great characters and films don’t happen every day… In the last two-three years, I am happy with the work that I am doing. I’m feeling good about it deep down,” he added.

Gowtam Tinnanuri, who directed the original “Jersey”, has helmed the Hindi version as well. The film also features Mrunal Thakur and Pankaj Kapur.

Presented by Allu Arvind and backed by Aman Gill, Dil Raju, S Naga Vamsi, “Jersey” is set to be released on April 14.