Shahid Kapoor channels Vijay Deverakonda in Kabir Singh as he starts shooting for the film. See pics

Actor Shahid Kapoor was spotted filming his upcoming film, Kabir Singh, the official remake of Telugu hit, Arjun Reddy. Pictures of the actor on set have been shared online, and he looks remarkably similar to original star, Vijay Deverakonda.

In the pictures, Shahid sports a scraggly beard and a mop of hair, similar to Deverakonda’s look from the 2016 film. Both films share director Sandeep Vanga, who based the story on his life as a physiotherapy student. The protagonist is a high-functioning alcoholic with a violent, self-destructive streak.

In an interview to Firstpost, Vanga said that he believes the Hindi remake will be even more hard-hitting than the original. “When I made Arjun Reddy, I wasn’t sure where to draw the line in terms of representation of certain things. I don’t think I’d have to restrict myself when it comes to the Hindi version. I believe I’ll have more freedom in Bollywood,” he said.

The film will also star MS Dhoni: The Untold Story and Lust Stories actor Kiara Advani as the female lead.

Arjun Reddy was enthusiastically received both critically and commercially. The film made over Rs 50 crore at the box office, against a budget of around Rs 5 crore.

Shahid is coming off the disappointing Batti Gul Meter Chalu, which was intended as a social drama in the vein of Akshay Kumar’s recent films - it was directed by Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’s Shree Narayan Singh - but could only manage middling reviews and Rs 60 crore at the box office.

Shahid recently welcomed his second child with wife Mira Rajput, a boy named Zain. The couple already has a daughter, Misha.

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