When we started making Shaandaar, I did not have Haider, Vikas Bahl had not tasted the success of Queen and Alia Bhatt definitely did not have Highway. The film was a fun film to do and we were all very excited about the subject. Over the last one year, people around us started getting excited as good things happened with us. The movie is viewed very differently today from the time it was conceptualised. Today, I have planned my career in a certain way, making space for one project at a time.

After Haider and Shaandaar, I will move to Abhishek Chaubey's Udta Punjab, which is set in a very different world. Then, there is Vishal Bhardwaj's Rangoon. So, the opportunity to do a film like Shaandaar will come maybe two years later. You started your career with a romcom, Ishq Vishq. How has this genre evolved over the years? With so many films being made these days, the audience is more picky about what they watch. So we have to be more responsible in making our choices and aware about doing things that are new and exciting. I am getting the sense from people that Shaandaar has a fresh feel. That's a good place to be in. Vikas is a new-age filmmaker.

With Queen, he has shown that he has something to say that's different. The same goes for Shaandaar. You seem to be trying a different look with this film. My basic idea is to look different in every film so that I can explore a different facet of myself. It went unnoticed in my previous films, however, with Haider and now with Shaandaar and Udta Punjab people are recognising that. The effort is not how best can I look it is how different can I look. Between Kaminey and Haider, a bunch of your films did not work. I can't figure what went wrong. However, today, I have people giving me better advice. Before Haider, I went through a transition. The way I view things, the way I look at life and the choices I make are different today. Whether they are right or wrong, time will tell. I started a new journey in my career. I hope it reflects in the films I do.

Since Shaandaar is your first release after Haider, what are your expectations? Apart from the fact that this is Vikas's first film after Queen and my first film with Alia, this is also my first association with Phantom Films and Dharma Productions. Since I am doing three films with Phantom, including Udta Punjab and Vikramaditya Motwane's next, we better get this one right. As much as we are promoting it as a Shahid-Alia film, there is more to it which you will find out when you watch it. It's like this gift which has been kept wrapped. There are some very interesting characters - my dad Pankaj Kapur, Sanah Kapur, Sanjay Kapoor and others. How was it working with your family? Sanah (his half-sister) told me that she did not want me around when she was shooting. Since my father plays Alia's father in the film, he was in character and was bonding with her more; I felt left out. However, my father and I used to have tea together - at times, in the middle of the shoot, and sometimes after pack-up.