Shahid Kapur has a problem. His films are flopping badly, one after the other. Last year, three of the young actor's films sunk without a trace at the box office.
Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi and Shikhar flopped back to back. So did the multi-starrer Deewane Huye Pagal.
But when Shahid -- son of actor Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Kapur burst onto the scene with the 2002 surprise hit Ishq Vishq, he was being touted as the next Shah Rukh Khan.
Parallels were drawn between him and the Bollywood badshah in terms of looks and dancing abilities.
In fact, Shah Rukh himself said in a recent interview that Shahid was the only hero he can visualise playing 'Rahul' -- the character that the King Khan has mostly played in his hit films.
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The going was good for Shahid then because Hrithik Roshan's career was going nowhere and Abhishek Bachchan was struggling to find a hit.
"You don't need to have godfathers in the industry to prove yourself," Shahid told rediff.com after the success of Ishq Vishq.
"Look at Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. Both of them became superstars and had no film background," the young actor added.
However, having a godfather in the industry helped Bachchan Junior after he delivered hits like Bunty Aur Bably and Sarkar last year with his old man by his side.
Hrithik's fortunes too changed after Koi... Mil Gaya became a big hit in 2003. This year again, Hrithik has two big films coming up: Krrish, the sequel to Koi... Mil Gaya, and Dhoom 2.
Saif Ali Khan turned out to be Bollywood's dark horse, delivering hits like Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste. John Abraham too found a niche for himself with Dhoom.
But since 2004, when he starred in the flop Fida with his girlfriend Kareena Kapoor, things have been only going downhill for Shahid.
In fact, the only time he made big news in recent memory was because of a cell phone video clip that purportedly caught him and Kareena snogging in a Mumbai discotheque last year. Both of them claimed the images were morphed.
The question is: How did things go wrong with Shahid?
"I think he chose wrong scripts and bad films. He was with the wrong filmmakers after the success of his first film. I think he did not understand on how to choose a right film at that time," says film trade analyst Komal Nahta.
Before the release of Shikhar, when we asked Shahid why his films were not clicking, he said, "When I did Ishq Vishq no one wrote about it; but that went on to become a hit. About Fida and other films there was too much of buzz but none clicked. So you never know what will click in this industry."
Is Shahid's box-office fate sealed then? Trade analyst Vinod Mirani does not feel so.
"There is no guarantee today for a single hero to bring audiences to theatres. So, Shahid is no exception. He can make it big once again if he gets a good film project," Mirani says.
Director Ken Ghosh, who made Ishq Vishq and Fida, agrees. "Shahid has a long way to go. If he gets good films in a right budget he will make it big once again. He has many big banners with him for this year and I am sure he will do well," Ghosh says.
Among Shahid's forthcoming films are Sooraj Barjatiya's Vivaah, Abbas-Mustan's China Town, and a Priyadarshan film.
"Shahid has good films in his hand at the moment. He is a great dancer and I am sure he has learnt from his past mistakes," says Nahta, adding, "I am confident he will make it big once again."
