Shahid's got his heart set on success

He was just 17 when he starred in a soft drink commercial alongside Shah Rukh Khan and declared: 'Yeh dil maange more!' (This heart wants more!).

Today, 10 years later, Shahid Kapur is the Indian film industry's man of the moment. He is high on producers' demand list, was ranked eighth in the top 10 most powerful actors of 2007 by Indian portal rediff.com and is being seen by insiders as the successor to Khan himself – undoubtedly Bollywood's biggest star.

At 11 films old, Kapur, who reportedly charges an estimated Rs50 million (Dh4.5m) per film, is on a roll. His last two films – Vivah and Jab We Met – were huge hits, grossing in excess of Rs900m to date at the box office. But as he rides the wave of his success, the 27-year-old insists he is very aware of his place in the industry and says he is careful not to make too many demands.

When asked if he would consider signing a profit-sharing royalties deal with his producers, like actor-director Amir Khan, he replies: "I think it's too premature for me to plan something like that. I guess you can start thinking like that only after you've spent a lot of time in the industry.

"I also think it depends on where your interest lies. I don't want to attempt something unless I am completely aware of what I'm doing and sure of what I'm getting into. So right now I can't think about it. But if at some point in time I do feel that that is a fair thing to ask for, maybe I will consider."

Still we were tempted to ask: what about investing in properties, considering he visits the Emirates so often and with many of his contemporaries associated with projects here?

"I have never really thought about that," he laughs. "Right now, I have just been working day in and day out and not really thinking about investments. But Dubai is a beautiful place. I think this place has absolutely fantastic stuff coming up and if there is any place apart from India, Dubai is on top of the list."

Sitting in the lobby of a Dubai Marina hotel, and speaking to hordes of journalists while curious onlookers and fans crowd around him, Kapur admits that despite his increasing popularity, there are a lot of queries he is loathe to answer.

"There are a lot of questions that come over and over again," he says. "I am not tired about it. But I don't like saying things so people can come watch the film. And I don't think it's cool for me to praise myself."

Kapur's latest film is Kismat Konnection where he plays a brilliant architect overcome by bad fortune. Also starring Vidya Balan and directed by Aziz Mirza, the film had its world premiere in Dubai on Wednesday.

But its not really queries about his expectations for the film he is weary of answering, although he won't quite put it that way. There have been relentless enquiries about his high-profile split with actor Kareena Kapoor and the rumours surrounding the link-up with Balan, his latest co-star.

Kapur, who comes from a family of filmmakers, knows better than anyone that the road to stardom is not an easy one, something he says he learnt very early in his career. "I had to do about 60 to 70 auditions before my first film did well and before I got my first break," he says. "Which is why I could connect with the character I am playing in my latest film who is trying to find success and to be appreciated and accepted. I have felt like that very often in life."

While the hugely successful Pepsi campaign put him in the spotlight and a string of music videos followed with a background dancing stint in a song in Taal, a film starring Aishwarya Rai, it would be another five years before Kapur's debut film hit the screens.

The film, Ishq Vishq, was a moderate success but won him an award for best debut in 2003. A string of films followed, some successful, some complete box-office disasters.

Then in 2007 came Jab We Met, the year's biggest hit, and Bollywood is already contemplating to crown its next big thing.

Whether or not that will be Kapur is anyone's guess, but the star assures me he has his feet firmly on the ground – even if he can't do without his bevy of man-Fridays at his beck at call – one holding up a mirror every time someone whips out a camera and the other dabbing his face with a sponge.

"I only interact with people when I do promotions for my films. Apart from that, I am quite a private person and I like being on my own, doing regular things like a normal person," he says.

While his last film, Jab We Met grossed over Rs300m at the box office, the success of Kismat Konnection is bound to cement Kapur's place in the industry. But Bollywood, some would argue, churns out films with so little quality control that the longevity of its stars rides on a frail public support. The rising star disagrees.

"I think we make some significant films every year," he says. "Of course, there are films that are not great. But I think that happens in every industry. I think our industry is getting better and the knowledge is increasing.

"We have already made cinema which is really liked by the audiences we make it for. I think each audience is different and Indian films are made largely for Indian audiences so I guess there is difference of perspective.

"Our industry is one of the largest in the world – the number of films we churn out is absolutely huge and there must be a reason why it's surviving."

So now, 10 years after the famous Pepsi commercial, what does Shahid Kapur's heart want?

"Fifteen years down the line, when I look back, I should be able to remember 15 films which are significant and 15 roles which I am proud of," he says. "It's not possible for every film to do well but I want to do one good film a year which makes me feel like I have done something substantial."


Kismat Konnection: the verdict

Fate is a funny thing. And as the stars of this film about indelible bad luck, some good fortune and a bit of romance will soon find out – sometimes things don't always turn out quite as well as we'd hoped.

Kismat Konnection is Aziz Mirza's fifth movie but sadly, is not even half as enjoyable as any of his previous works.

Raj Malhotra (Shahid Kapur) is a talented architect for whom nothing has gone right. No job, money or success.

Enter Priya (Vidya Balan), who almost gets into an accident with our despondent hero thereby immediately causing tension between the two.

At about this time, Raj hits rock bottom as he has yet another unfavourable job interview.

He decides to give a fortune teller, Hasina (Juhi Chawla), a visit, who convinces our hero about how luck is the only factor not in his favour and he must find his charm.

Our mystified hero realises this could in-fact be Priya and is on a race to keep her. But as "kismet" or fate would have it, Priya is involved in a community centre that needs to be demolished for Raj's dream project. Will our hero win the project, save the centre and also Priya's affections?

Kapur fits his role perfectly as a struggling confused youth. This may not be his career-defining performance but he manages to dole out the required goods. The initial irony of Balan's role is well played out but quickly fails, while the chemistry between the two is as azygous as coleslaw and mustard. But the pace of the movie is its main catastrophe (runtime: 2 hrs 35 min) and even picturesque Toronto doesn't entice. The songs aren't complete deal breakers though. But it looks like it's going to take a lot of kismet (and probably more) for our lead stars to finally shine through. (Sumit Bhatia)