The year 2019 had a few big hits and misses. But Shahid Kapoor’s performance in the blockbuster film Kabir Singh surpassed all expectations and disrupted the paths of many Bollywood films — also paving the way for films, which were earlier branded as regional content. Interestingly, according to Google India, Kabir Singh was the most searched film of the year.
Although in retrospect, there were other big-budget films at the box office, Kabir Singh’s success story can be attributed a lot to Shahid’s unabashed portrayal of the lead actor. “Kabir Singh’s success has shown us the phenomenal calibre that Shahid Kapoor has as the box office disruptor. He has once again proved that he can play the most complex characters with utmost ease,” says trade analyst Atul Mohan.
A point that analyst Taran Adarsh also agrees to. “Undoubtedly Shahid is the box office disruptor of 2019. With Kabir Singh, Shahid has walked away with the enigma of someone who is not just a star but a flawless actor as well. His next film Jersey is one of the most keenly awaited films of 2020,” he opines. The pop culture that the film seemed to spawn emerged in the form of Kabir Singh’s glasses, “Very rarely can a film make the audience come to the theatre more than once. Shahid as an actor did that with Kabir Singh. Everyone wanted to get those glasses,” says Vajir Singh, Editor, Box Office India.
