After his father’s directorial debut Mausam (2011) bombed at the box-office, actor Shahid Kapoor was rumoured to have been offered a bunch of projects. The most recent being director Puneet Malhotra’s next for producer Karan Johar. Before that, it was said that he was going to play a gangster in Ekta Kapoor’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel, where his role would be modelled on gangster Chota Rajan. The third film he was believed to have started work on was his dad’s next as a director.

Bring this up, and he says, “Unfortunately, I’ve no work to do. I’ve finished working on Kunal Kohli’s film Teri Meri Kahani. It’s turned out nice. I enjoyed sharing the screen with Priyanka (actor Priyanka Chopra) again. And now, I’m waiting for Maneesh (director Maneesh Sharma of 2010 flick, Band Baaja Baraat) to recover from his illness. He’s had a slip disc. The only film I’m supposed to start now is his. Once he recovers, we’ll be on the floors. I don’t know where the rest came from.”

Reportedly, the 29-year-old actor had started working doubly hard on his father Pankaj Kapur’s next, soon after Mausam’s box-office fate was announced. “Really?” he exclaims. “When I last spoke to my father, he was in New York holidaying. And he hadn’t started on anything. But who knows… He could have started something with some Hollywood actors without telling me.”

It was also said that Shahid had met producer Ekta Kapoor at a popular five-star hotel in the suburbs to discuss the Once Upon… sequel. And since he had been signed on for Puneet’s film, the director’s rumoured ladylove, actor Sonam Kapoor, had walked out.

“If I don’t sign a film, I don’t like to comment on its status,” says the actor, adding, “As for Puneet’s film, I won’t say anything except that what Sonam does is her choice. But from what I know of her, she will never accept or decline a project because of a co-actor. If she has walked out, she’ll have a strong reason for that.”