Starting off his career by working in music videos and advertisements, Shahid Kapoor made his Bollywood debut as a background dancer in Subhash Ghai’s Taal (1999). Four years later, he made his debut as a lead in Ishq Vishk (2003) and won a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award for his performance. Following through with acclaimed performances in films like Fida (2004) and Shikhar (2005), he had his first commercial success with Sooraj R. Barjatya’s Vivah (2006), and followed it up with Jab We Met (2007) and Kaminey (2009) which are also his biggest commercial successes so far.

Before starting off his career as an actor, Shahid worked in several music videos and ads, including the Pepsi commercial with Shahrukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji post Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). While doing so, he decided to join the Shiamak Davar Institute for the Performing Arts (SDIPA), where he was later seen in Subhash Ghai’s film Taal (1999) as a background dancer in the song Kahin Aag Lage Lag Jawe along with actress Aishwarya Rai and in Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) of Yash Raj banner with actress Karisma Kapoor.

In 2003, Shahid played his first leading role as Rajiv Mathur, a carefree young man in Ken Ghosh’s moderately successful love story Ishq Vishk. Appearing opposite Amrita Rao and Shenaz Treasurywala, the film was well received by audiences and Kapoor’s performance earned him a Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. Film critic Taran Adarsh from indiaFM wrote, “Shahid Kapur is an actor to watch. He has all the qualities to hit the top slot. Not only is he good looking, but he is an amazing performer as well. Very original as a perormer the youngster has handled the dramatic and emotional moments with flourish. He is an exceptional dancer as well. All he needs to do is pick and choose his forthcoming assignments with care, so that the journey to the top slot is minus hiccups.”

The following year, Shahid joined once again with director Ken Ghosh in the thriller Fida, where he co-starred alongside Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan. The film failed to do well at the box office, yet Shahid ‘s performance was praised. The Tribune concluded, “…Shahid Kapoor shines in his role. He looks fresh. As an impulsive emotional and innocent guy, who is sucked into crime because of these very qualities, he manages to evoke your sympathies.” He then appeared in the romantic comedy Dil Maange More opposite Soha Ali Khan, Tulip Joshi, and Ayesha Takia. His performance opened to mixed reviews; Rediff.com wrote that “Shahid tends to imitate Shahrukh Khan a lot. He does it well in some scenes, overdoes it in others…”

Featuring in three more films in 2005, success continued to elude Kapoor. However, his performance as Jaidev Vardhan, a man who is sucked into the world of money and greed in John M. Matthan’s drama Shikhar was critically acclaimed, earning Shahid his first Star Screen Award for Best Actor nomination. According to IndiaFM, “Shahid Kapoor is only improving with every film. He matches up to Ajay in almost all sequences.”

During the summer of 2006, Shahid embarked on his first world tour, the Rockstars Concert, along with Bollywood stars, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor hid , John Abraham, Esha Deol, Mallika Sherawat and Zayed Khan.

In 2007, Shahid appeared in two movies. His first release was Ahmed Khan’s Fool and Final. The film received negative reviews and failed to do well at the box office Shahid ‘s performance in the film did not receive positive reviews. His next release, Imtiaz Ali’s comedy-romance Jab We Met, opposite Kareena Kapoor, became one of the biggest hits of the year. The film tells the story of two people with two very different personalities meeting each other on a train and how they fall in love eventually. Shahid portrayed the character of Aditya Kashyap, a dejected young industrialist full of angst and despair. The film was well-received by critics and Shahid ‘s performance earned him several nominations for Best Actor at a number of award ceremonies, including Filmfare. Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN noted, “Despite the risk of being overshadowed by Kareena, his co-star in the film, Shahid Kapur leaves an indelible impression with a performance that is understated and mature, and indeed the perfect foil to Kareena’s boisterousness.”

Shahid then appeared in the Aziz Mirza-directed film, Kismat Konnection (2008), opposite Vidya Balan. Upon release, the film under-performed at the box office.

In 2010, Shahid appeared in Ken Ghosh’s film Chance Pe Dance opposite Genelia D’Souza, in which he portrayed the role of a struggling Bollywood actor. The movie received poor review from critics, but Shahid ‘s performance was well received. He then starred in Ahmed Khan’s Paathshala alongside Ayesha Takia and Nana Patekar followed by Yash Raj Films’ moderately successful Badmaash Company. As of April 2010, Shahid has completed filming for Satish Kaushik’s Milenge Milenge, which released on July 9, 2010.

Awards Received By Shahid Kapoor

Filmfare Awards
2004 Ishq Vishk Best Male Debut Won
2008 Jab We Met Best Actor Nominated
2010 Kaminey Best Actor Nominated
2015 Haider Best Actor Won
2017 Udta Punjab Best Actor Nominated
2017 Best Actor (Critics) Won
2020 Kabir Singh Best Actor Nominated
International Indian Film Academy Awards
2004 Ishq Vishk Star Debut of the Year – Male Won
2008 Jab We Met Best Actor Nominated
2010 Kaminey Best Actor Nominated
2015 Haider Best Actor Won
2017 Udta Punjab Best Actor Won

Films Done By Shahid Kapoor

1997 Dil To Pagal Hai Dancer Uncredited
1999 Taal Dancer Uncredited
2003 Ishq Vishk Rajiv Mathur Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut
2004 Fida Jai Malhotra
2004 Dil Maange More Nikhil Mathur
2005 Deewane Huye Paagal Karan
2005 Vaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! Aditya
2005 Shikhar Jaidev “Jai” Vardhan
2006 36 China Town Raj Malhotra
2006 Chup Chup Ke Jeetu Prasad Sharma
2006 Vivah Prem
2007 Fool & Final Raja
2007 Jab We Met Aditya Kashyap Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2008 Kismat Konnection Raj Malhotra
2009 Kaminey Charlie / Guddu Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2009 Dil Bole Hadippa! Rohan Singh
2010 Chance Pe Dance Sameer Behl
2010 Paathshaala Rahul Prakash Udyavar
2010 Badmaash Company Karan
2010 Milenge Milenge Amit (Immy)
2011 Mausam Harinder Singh (Harry)
2012 Teri Meri Kahaani Jawed / Govind / Krish
2013 Bombay Talkies Himself Cameo appearance in song “Apna Bombay Talkies”
2013 Phata Poster Nikhla Hero Vishwas Rao
2013 R… Rajkumar Romeo Rajkumar
2014 Haider Haider Meer Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2014 Action Jackson Himself Special appearance in song “Punjabi Mast”
2015 Shaandaar Jagjinder Joginder
2016 Udta Punjab Tommy Singh Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2017 Rangoon Nawab Malik
2018 Padmaavat Rawal Ratan Singh
2018 Welcome to New York Himself Cameo appearance
2018 Batti Gul Meter Chalu Sushil Kumar Pant
2019 Kabir Singh Kabir Singh Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor
2020 Jersey Films that have not yet been released Arjun Raichand Filming

Television Done By Shahid Kapoor

Mohandas B.A.L.L.B 1998 Assistant director Television series
16th Star Screen Awards 2010 Host Television special
17th Star Screen Awards 2011 Host Television special
18th Colors Screen Awards 2012 Host Television special
13th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2012 Host Television special
14th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2013 Host Television special
15th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2014 Host Television special
Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded 2015 Judge Reality show
Zee Cine Awards 2016 Host Television special
17th International Indian Film Academy Awards 2016 Host Television special