Padmaavat: Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor rivalry out in the open

Mumbai: They’ve been warily examining each other’s territory through the making of Padmaavat. And now, the Ranveer Singh-Shahid Kapoor war is out for everyone to see. Recently, both the actors broke an old protocol followed by co-stars, who share the same screen space. They spoke about doing each other’s roles.

It was Ranveer who set the ball rolling by saying he would have done Shahid’s 'Kaminey' better than Shahid. Not to be left behind, Shahid responded by saying he would have played Ranveer’s Khilji in Padmaavat “differently.”

A source close to Padmaavat is not amused by Shahid’s comment. “Of course, Shahid would have played it differently. Every actor brings his own skills into every character. That is why you can’t compare Dilip Kumar’s Devdas with Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas. But why talk about a co-actor’s role? Did Amitabh Bachchan speak about how he would’ve played Rajesh Khanna’s role in Namak Haraam? Even when two actors are fierce rivals, it’s an unwritten rule that two actors don’t discuss one another’s roles in the same film.”

Another source says Shahid was hounded by insecurities all through the making of Padmaavat. “He had reservations about Ranveer playing the author-backed role, but Sanjay Leela Bhansali convinced him. But the twinge of doubt remained throughout the making of the film, and Shahid would anxiously look over his shoulder at Ranveer’s role,” says the source.