Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Jersey’, Hindi remake of the Telugu film ‘Jersey’ is making hurls on the internet, of late. The actor who has earlier done Kabir Singh, which is also a remake of Arjun Reddy, has now opened up on doing back to back remakes.
At the trailer launch of Jersey, when he was asked if finds it safer beat to do, he said, “See, it definitely helps when you do a remake. It’s very helpful to know what ur doing.”
He further added, “I’ve had some very scary experiences so I much confess that being a part of a remake is definitely helpful as an actor because you understand what the story is, how the filmmaker wants to express himself while putting a story together and bringing his vision to it.” He continued, “When I did Kabir Singh and now when I’ve done this (Jersey) I’ve realized it’s very difficult to do a remake. Sometimes it’s even tougher than doing an original character.”
And justifying the same, he said, “You have to make it fresh. It cannot look like a copy paste. It cannot look like you are just picking up something and re-creating it. You have to rediscover it all over again.”
The actor also recalled his work in Kabir Singh, saying, “We (Sandeep Reddy Vanga and him) had so many conversations because… Sometimes I had to say ‘Can Arjun Reddy leave the room so Kabir Singh can enter the room.’ It’s just so difficult for a filmmaker who’s created a character so close to his heart to give it to another actor.”
He added, “I really feel this version of Jersey is very different from the original. When you see the film you’ll understand it’s the same story but when the character changes, when the medium changes – we’ve taken this film to Chandighar, he’s a Punjabi guy. We have brought a lot of small changes, (Pointing to Mrunal Thakur), she plays a Telugu girl. So that relationship is very different. The way this character behaves, the way his angst comes through, the way he hides his pain is very different from the original.”
He concluded, “Once the actor changes, once the cultural background changes, the languages changes… If it’s the same, then you are probably doing something wrong because it’s not going to land for that audience and that culture. You are to bring authenticity to that story for the backdrop you are placing it against and for the person you are creating.” He concluded by saying, “This Arjun is very different from the other Arjun – and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” as stated in Koi Moi.
