Revealed: Shahid Kapoor plays a boxer in Raja Krishnan Menon’s next

Shahid Kapoor was supposed to start work on Imtiaz Ali’s next after wrapping up Shree Narayan Singh’s Batti Gul Meter Chalu. Now that the former has been put on the back burner, the Padmaavat hero has signed a film with Raja Krishnan Menon (of Airlift and Chef fame). The director had confirmed the development but details about the project have been tightly guarded. Now, an industry insider tells us, “Shahid is doing a sports-based film with Raja. He wanted to explore that space for quite some time. He plays a boxer who emerges triumphant against all odds in his life.”

The actor will start prepping and training for the role right after he wraps up work on Batti Gul Meter Chalu. “He needs to have a particular physique to play the character convincingly and learn the techniques of boxing,” says the source. This is his second movie where he essays the role of a sportsman. Previously, he played a cricketer in Dil Bole Hadippa!

The film is currently in the scripting stage. Adds our source, “Someone had approached Shahid with the story. He liked it and since he was already discussing about collaborating with Raja, Sasha asked the filmmaker if he would want to work on it. And the latter started developing it further.”