It was a meeting with John Abraham that brought a major twist to Shahid Shamzy’s life. He had gone to meet John, an actor whom he has been idolising ever since the initial days of his career. “One of my friends was also friends with John and therefore, arranged a meeting with him. It was during the meeting that John’s manager told me about an audition that was happening in Mumbai. I went for the audition and got selected,” says an excited Shahid, who will be doing the lead role in an upcoming Bollywood movie. Directed by Izrar, who has been assisting Anurag Basu, the movie is titled Tu Jaane Na.
Shahid has been in the modeling industry for past 13 years and has been the face of many major brands. However, it was the call for a role in director Roshan Andrews’s Mohanlal-starrer movie Casanova that cemented his wish to become an actor.
He explains, “Though I was interested in cinemas, it was not until Casanova that I got the real feel of acting. The drive in me to become a part of the Indian film industry grew deeper and I started hunting for opportunities.”
As the model puts it, the industry is full of talents and the competition is sky high. It therefore requires luck also along with talent to make a mark in movies. “I am glad that I got an opportunity to work in Bollywood at the start of my career itself. I have a long way to go and I want the audiences to know me by my characters. Never mind if they are few,” says Shahid, who has a couple of Malayalam as well as Hindi movies in his kitty.
Shahid will be donning the lead role in the upcoming Malayalam movie Kunjiyamma Anju Makkalum.
The movie will also mark the debut of veteran actor Kalpana’s daughter Sreemayi. Shahid is preparing for the role and building his physique as he says the movie is an action film. He will also star in Vinod Guruvayoor’s Sakalakalashala .
