Shahid Kapoor would need at least two weeks of cricket practice before Jersey's shoot begins

Veteran actor Shahid Kapoor is practicing hard to essay the role of an ambitious cricketer in his upcoming sports-based film Jersey. The sports drama is a Hindi-remake of a Telugu film of the same name helmed by Gowtam Tinnamuri.

The story revolves around a father named Arjun who is a talented but failed cricketer. Arjun decides to make a comeback in the game at the age of thirty to fulfill his dream of representing the Indian cricket team and his son’s desire of having an Indian jersey as a gift. How he makes it big despite facing issues due to his age and family problems forms the essence of the story.

Shahid had started shooting for his new film in the month of December last year. However, the shoot was halted due to the rise of coronavirus cases in the country. But the film industry is now slowly getting back to life while following the health guidelines laid out by the Centre and State government.

Recently in an exclusive interview with Times of India, the Jersey director Gowtam Tinnamuri laid stress on the fact that the Bollywood actor would need at least two weeks of cricket practice for portraying his role in the film.

“Now, there is a cap on the number of crew members that can be present on the film set. Whenever the government allows us to increase the number, following the health situation in the country, we would need at least four weeks to be on floors. As for Shahid, he would need at least two weeks of cricket practice before we begin the shoot to get back into the groove. He is a good cricketer, so we have less to worry on that front,” said Gowtam.

Rajiv Mehra sheds light on Shahid Kapoor’s training for the film

After signing the cricket-based film, Shahid had started his cricket training with the fitness coach Rajiv Mehra. The duo was involved in a three-month training program to improve the actor’s batting skills before the shoot for the film commenced in December. The training mainly focused on honing the batting skills of Shahid so that his character could look real on the screen and not an amateur.

As the shooting for the sports drama is expected to start soon, Rajiv revealed about the progress in the cricket training of the film star. Rajiv told, “Both Shahid and I feel that we need at least seven to 10 days of practice before the shoot starts again. We have to ensure that he doesn’t sustain any injury while practising or shooting. We have to help his body adapt to a certain level of activity, build strength and brush up his cricket skills. It is a very delicate situation to be in because now we will be working against a tight deadline.”