Actor Shahid Kapoor says it's a privilege to reunite with filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj for a fourth film, describing it as their "most open" project till date.

Kapoor, who previously collaborated with the acclaimed director on "Kaminey", "Haider", and "Rangoon", said the new movie is a love story, set against the backdrop of the Mumbai underworld in the 1990s.

Much like 2009's "Kaminey", the actor said the currently untitled film has a certain "quirkiness" to it.

"It's always been a privilege to work with Vishal sir. This is our most open film that we've made so far in terms of appeal and relatability... It's inherently a love story based against the backdrop of the Mumbai gangsters in the '90s...

"Like 'Kaminey', there's a quirk to the film... It has a certain uniqueness to the world, which in moments will feel a little heightened, which is very interesting," Shahid told PTI in an interview here.

Bhardwaj's film also stars Triptii Dimri, Nana Patekar and Randeep Hooda with Vikrant Massey in a special appearance.

The 43-year-old actor, who is awaiting the release of "Deva", said he is happy about working with such a stellar cast.

"I'm excited to work with all of them, starting with Nana Patekar sir. Randeep Hooda and I have known each other for many years. So it's great to work with somebody of his calibre as an actor.

"We have a special appearance from Vikrant Massey, who I adore as an actor. We have crossed paths sometimes, I've always loved his work. There's Triptii, who's playing the female lead, and it's an extremely strong role for her. We're trying to make a film for a wide audience," he added.

"Deva", which arrives in theatres on Friday, will see Shahid playing the role of a rough-and-tough cop who goes to great lengths to seek justice for his colleague.

According to the actor, his titular character from the Rosshan Andrrews directorial is another addition to the universe of 'angry young men' who are "very watchable" on the big screen.

Shahid, who broke out of his "chocolate boy" image with films such as "Kaminey", "Udta Punjab", "Kabir Singh" and "Bloody Daddy", said he often fields questions about such characters and whether watching them on the screen is good for the masses.

"There are many versions of the angry young man that the audience has seen over time. The fact is that people are fascinated with such characters. They are very watchable. You might not want to come across them in real life. So it's maybe safer just to watch them on a screen when you know that it's fiction. (But) I don't exactly understand the psyche.

"Deva is a character in that ('angry young man') universe but there is much more to Deva than what meets the eye. There's one line in the film, which is also in our trailer. It says, 'Ye jo tera gussa hai na, ye tera darr hai'... All of us have made a subtle comment on the fact that sometimes anger, which can be intimidating, comes from fear," he added.

The "charm" of such characters will remain as long as they're not done just for effect, he said.

"If it's inherently there in the personality of the character in the world of the film and feels organic, then the people will love it." Deva's 'angry young man' connection first started doing social media rounds when the film's teaser poster featured Shahid smoking a cigarette in front of a mural of Amitabh Bachchan's Vijay from 1975's "Deewaar".

Bachchan's mural is "like a character" in the film, he said.

The title "Deva" was under filmmaker Subhash Ghai's cinematic custody since 1987 as it was reserved for a project featuring Bachchan but it never came to fruition.

Shahid said the Bachchan connection is perhaps the director's homage to the screen icon.

"It was a film that he (Bachchan) was meant to do... Of course, a different film. I think that's the reason for that poster and the rest you will see in the film," he added.

When the trailer of "Deva" came out, many on social media drew the character's parallels to Shahid's titular brash and alcoholic doctor in 2019's "Kabir Singh".

The actor, however, is unfazed with such comparisons.

"When you see a two-minute trailer that tends to happen. When I had done 'Kabir Singh', a lot of people said, 'Arey yaar, Tommy Singh ('Udta Punjab') ka madness dikh raha hai ismein'.

"When you've done characters that have stayed with people, those memories are strong... I strongly feel that 'Deva' will have his own identity in my filmography as a character." "Deva", produced by Zee Studios and Roy Kapur Films, also stars Pooja Hegde, Pavail Gulati, Pravesh Rana and Kubbra Sait.

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