Shahid Kapoor reveals questioning director Abhishek Chaubey on casting as Tommy Singh for 'Udta Punjab': 'I don't drink, I've never been high'

Shahid Kapoor has proved his mettle time and again with his performances in various movies, and one of them was 'Udta Punjab'. The actor played the role of musician Tommy Singh, who is also a controversial drug addict. Recently, Kapoor revealed that after hearing the story, he asked director Abhishek Chaubey why he wanted to pick him for the role. Let's learn more about it.

Shahid Kapoor shares he asked Abhishek Chaubey why he picked him for the Tommy Singh character

During an interactive session at IFP, Shahid Kapoor recalled his conversation with Abhishek Chaubey and shared, "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.'"


The actor shared that the only way he could perfect the character was when the director showed him a lot of footage. Kapoor added that he felt the makers wanted to explore addiction and the rockstar personality of the character.

Shahid Kapoor talks about surviving on coffee during the shoot

During the same conversation, Shahid Kapoor stated that since most of the film was shot at night, he was eating "very little food, surviving a lot on black coffee." The 'Kaminey' actor stated that Tommy Singh was one of the "most experimental characters" that he has played and called the experience "unreal."

More about 'Udta Punjab'

Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, the movie also starred Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Diljit Dosanjh in the lead roles. The movie was released in theaters in June 2016 and went on to become a hit at the box office. On the other hand, it also got involved in controversy as it shed light on the alleged drug addiction situation in Punjab.

The CBFC had asked the makers to drop the name 'Punjab' from the title. Reports also stated that the board demanded 89 visual cuts in the movie.

Get an chance to win ₹5000 Amazon Voucher by taking part in India's Biggest Habit Index! Take the survey here