Arjun Reddy’ and ‘Kabir Singh’ may be cousins but they are not the same person: Shahid Kapoor

Shahid Kapoor will be seen in the remake of the Telugu hit Arjun Reddy and the actor says the team of Kabir Singh has tried to keep the original film’s intensity and honesty alive. Directed by Sandeep Vanga, who also helmed the original movie, Kabir Singh features Shahid in the title role.

“The original was very raw, very honest. I don’t think there was anything in the film that was for effect. I just felt it said things as it is and was a brazen journey of a character who goes through an emotional arc which is extreme,” Shahid said.

“The honesty of the film connected with the audience. Otherwise for a film like that, there would be a limited audience. But it was loved across the board. The idea is to do it all over again,” he added.

The actor says while they have retained the essence of the film, they have also “rediscovered” the project. “We are trying to make it as honest and as raw as it was. Not trying to change anything for the sake of it. We are rediscovering it. Of course the way we do it, there’ll be some differences. It’s a good thing because we want to give an experience to people where they don’t say ‘Oh, we’ve seen this before.’ It must be fresh.”

The film chronicles an alcoholic surgeon who goes on a self-destructive path after his ex-lover gets married. Shahid says he has realised remaking a film is a difficult process as one cannot “copy” the original. “Creating a remake is damn tough. You have loved it for what it was but you can’t go out there and copy it. It has to be a rediscovery.”

“The original was ‘Arjun Reddy’, based in Hyderabad and Bangalore. This is ‘Kabir Singh’ which is based in Delhi and Mumbai. May be Arjun and Kabir are cousins but they are not the same person. My journey is only to find Kabir Singh.” The film, also featuring Kiara Advani, is scheduled to release on June 21.