Despite his stature and connections in the film industry, veteran actor Pankaj Kapur never directly launched or helped his son Shahid Kapoor’s career the way many Bollywood parents do for their children. During an exclusive conversation with IndiaToday.in, the actor opened up about why he decided not to launch Shahid, as well as the values ​​and beliefs that shaped his decision. Kapoor is currently promoting his upcoming film Binny and Family.

Kapoor clarified that he does not believe in the concept of “launching” a family member in the film industry. When asked about not launching Shahid, Kapoor said, “I don’t believe in it.”

“I believe that every individual should make his own journey and make his own beginning. This is something my father taught me. He said, ‘You can discuss, you can take suggestions. We can reach a consensus on how you go about this, but the decision should be yours. You have to take that first step because the journey is yours. It’s not my journey. So, once you take that step, even if you stumble, you will learn how to get up and walk again.’ If you can walk and run, you will be able to say, ‘I did it.’ My father didn’t tell me to do that. Neither my mother, nor my uncle, nor anyone else is responsible for my success,” Pankaj Kapur shared.

Though he didn’t launch Shahid, Kapoor has always been there as a mentor and guiding light for his son. He said, “You have to be responsible for your own success so that you can gain confidence. This confidence will take you forward throughout your life. Otherwise, you will always, throughout your life, be looking for someone to help you. Once it was your father, then it could be another producer, it could be the production house, it could be these corporate houses. No, you should have the confidence in yourself that ‘I should do this the way I think I can.'”

He added, “And if you do that, I think you stand on your feet and are able to move forward with confidence. Today, if any of them have become successful, it is because they are doing it. It is because of their personality, their honesty, hard work and talent. So they don’t have to look back and say, ‘Oh, dad did this for me.'”

Shahid Kapoor made his acting debut in 2003 with the romantic comedy Ishq Vishk. He then went on to star in hits such as Udta Punjab, Kaminey, Haider and Jab We Met.