MUMBAI: Shahid Kapoor is fast going down the Aamir Khan route. The young star is turning perfectionist, a la Mr. Khan, and is doing his best to please the director of his upcoming film ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’. No wonder that chocolate boy hero Shahid is learning to speak Kannada.

Shahid Kapoor was shooting in Karnataka for his upcoming film ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’ when he was quite taken by the language of the state. He quickly enquired around to learn that the language was Kannada. The more he heard the alien language, the more he started liking it. After all, Kannada was the language most of the crew and unit hands were conversing in, and Shahid was quite intrigued by it.

Shahid being the perfectionist that he is, has started lessons in Kannada, to pick up this regional language. Reportedly, Shahid has even got a book to learn the language quickly, and has since amazed some of his crew members by speaking a chosen few Kannada words. Further we hear, Shahid has planned to enlist the services of a tutor to learn the language in 10 days, until the shooting for ‘Phata Poster Nikla Hero’ lasts in Karnataka.

A unit-hand from the sets reveals that it was sheer curiosity which led Shahid Kapoor to wanting to learn the finer nuances of the language. Said the source: “Shahid has been trying to pick up basic words of Kannada and listens to their diction and pronunciation carefully. He is always trying to learn new things. He has been interacting with the locals and the crew in Mysore.

Shahid was back in town, when we spotted him taking a drive in his SUV in the suburban by lanes of Bandra. Dressed in a white tee, navy blue cardigan (which is soon becoming the colour of the season, going by the number of Bollywood celebrities sporting this colour off late!) and khaki trousers, Shahid looked happy to be back home. Perhaps he’ll try brushing up the Kannada he learnt by conversing with some of his South Indian friends.