Back-to-back, Shahid Kapoor has starred in two completely antithetic films: Vishal Bhardwaj’s stylized, dark and technique-heavy “Kaminey” and Aditya Chopra’s sugar-and-sarson saga whose every shot can be predicted, “Dil Bole Hadippa!.” What’s more, before the year is out, the actor will star in Ken Ghosh’s “Chance Pe Dance.”.

We catch up with the star, who is sporting short, spiked hair in sharp contrast to his long-haired looks in the released films. We compliment him on how well it suits him, he blushes and we get to business.

Excerpts from an interview with India-West:

Q: Your dad [acclaimed actor Pankaj Kapur] always says that mainstream cinema has not explored your caliber. And now you have done “Kaminey,” complete with a lisp, a stammer and a dark edge. What’s his reaction?

A: (Grins) He is happy. I too want to be a complete actor who is not into doing just one kind of film or role. I am not in a race, and different things excite me. Like after playing the contrasting twins in “Kaminey,” I loved playing the cricketer in an out-and-out masala film like “Dil Bole Hadippa!,” wherein I was the quintessential Hindi film hero. On the other hand, “Kaminey” was a load off my head as I did something different and out-of-the-box.

Q: How much of a sportsperson are you in real life?

A: I love cricket and one reason I had great fun doing DBH! was that I had this dream about playing the game in a major test match stadium and to do so while shooting at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai was a wild fantasy come true!

Q: There was talk about Rani and you being a mismatched pair.

A: I think that we looked great together, and we looked right too. For me, a new co-actor brings a certain freshness in my psyche and approach. We had a great rapport and there’s nothing wrong with a mix-n-match approach.

Q: “Kaminey” met with a strange mixed response.

A: I am glad that largely such a film was accepted. Such films need to be marketed differently, released with, say, 300 instead of 1,300 prints. From what I know, the audience from 12 to 40 years of age are loving the film, while those above 40 aren’t because many of them are not understanding it. This is because the earlier generation is used to simple films and “Kaminey” has no spoon-feeding.

Q: The film would never have worked without Priyanka and you.

A: Films like these need a star, frankly. Look, I want to do all the song-and-dance kind of mainstream films. It is only after a certain stage of success that you can play around with other sensibilities.