Shahid Kapoor to star in Arjun Reddy remake

It’s goodbye Ranveer Singh, hello Shahid Kapoor for the long-awaited remake of the Telugu film Arjun Reddy. The story of an alcoholic philandering surgeon, who loses his heart to a young innocent medical student, and goes the Devdas way, has proved to be as controversial as it has been successful.

Everybody who loved Arjun Reddy presumed that Vijay Deverakonda, who played the role in the original Telugu flick, would slip into the Hindi version as well. However, confirmed sources reveal that it is Shahid who will play the role.

The source says, “Director Sandeep Vanga was on-board for the Hindi version of the film, since he owns the copyright for the remakes. For reasons best known to him, he wanted Ranveer to play Arjun Reddy. But after Padmavati, Ranveer is voluntarily off-limits for dark characters. So, Sandeep then went to Ranveer’s Padmavati co-star Shahid, for whom the role of the drunken doctor Devdas would be an antithetical change after the noble royalty in Padmavati.”

Shahid would require intense preparation, including losing at least eight to nine kilos to look gaunt and drugged. He would also need to learn how to snort cocaine and how to inject himself with stimulants and uppers.

Tough one ahead, Shahid!