Doing a remake can be tougher than playing an original character: Shahid Kapoor on Jersey

Jersey (2021) is Shahid Kapoor's second consecutive remake of a hit Telugu film after the blockbuster Kabir Singh (2019). Interestingly, both remakes have been helmed by the filmmakers who directed the original movies.

Some may think doing a remake of an already successful film, that too with the same filmmaker, is a safe bet at the box office, but Kapoor had a different take on this at the media interaction at the Jersey trailer launch.

"I have been part of a few films in the past which I thought were gonna be a certain way and when I watched them I was like mai yahi sign kiya tha kya [was this what I signed up for]?" he said. "So I have had some very scary experiences, so I must confess that being a part of a remake can sometimes be helpful as an actor because you are aware of what the story is and how the filmmaker wants to express himself."

However, the actor added that doing two back-to-back remakes had made him realize that this is more difficult than people imagine.

"It's sometimes tougher than playing an original character," he said. "Because you have to make it fresh. It cannot look like copy-paste, like you are picking up something and just redoing the same stuff. You have to rediscover that character again from the beginning. I remember when I working with Sandeep [Reddy Vanga] for Kabir Singh, we had so many conversations on this topic."

Kapoor believes it is also difficult for a filmmaker who has created a character that is so close to his heart to give it to another actor. "There is always that insecurity of what if this actor doesn't understand what I need. Or what if this actor makes it something completely different because he wants to do it his way? It's very tricky to find that perfect balance of bringing something new to the character, but at the same time making sure you are not losing its essence."

Jersey is set in the North Indian city of Chandigarh and Kapoor revealed that certain changes have been made in the character from the original set in the South to suit the new milieu. "There are definitely some changes in this character, the way he behaves, the way his angst comes through, and the way he hides his pain... everything is different from the original," he said.

On the reasons for those changes, he explained, "After doing a couple of remakes I have realized that once the actor changes, the culture and milieu of the story change, if the character remains the same, then you are doing something wrong and it's probably not gonna land with that new audience.

"You have to bring authenticity to that story by being faithful to the cultural backdrop where your story is taking place. So I think my character Arjun is very different from the Telugu version [portrayed by Nani]. And I must thank our director Gowtam [Tinnanuri] for allowing me to bring something new to this character."

Jersey is set to be released in cinemas on 31 December.