he "slowly [...] comes to inhabit Haider, veering from rage to jealousy to madness in a heartbeat." Kapoor won several awards for the role, including the Screen Award, Producers Guild Film Award and Filmfare Award for Best Actor. After completing the duties of a talent judge on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Reloaded, Kapoor appeared opposite Alia Bhatt in Vikas Bahl's Shaandaar (2015). A critical and commercial failure, it is about insomniacs who fall in love during a destination wedding. Kapoor next took on the role of a drug abusing rock star in Udta Punjab (2016), a crime drama from the director Abhishek Chaubey that documents the substance abuse endemic in the Indian state of Punjab. Kapoor, a teetotaler, found it challenging to play an addict. He based the role on several pop stars, and was interested in bringing out his character's vulnerability despite his obnoxious actions. Udta Punjab generated controversy when the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) demanded extensive censorship before its theatrical release, citing that the portrayal of Punjab in it was negative. The demands sparked a debate on freedom of expression in India. After the producers filed a lawsuit against the board, the Bombay High Court cleared it for exhibition with a single scene cut, in which Kapoor's character is shown urinating on people. Sukanya Verma took note of the film's anti-drug message; she considered Kapoor to be "spectacularly unbridled" in his part and added that "the believability he brings to his complex transition while preserving his inherent flakiness deserves all the praise". Kapoor won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor (shared with Manoj Bajpayee for Aligarh) and received a Best Actor nomination at the same ceremony. In his third collaboration with Vishal Bharadwaj, an epic romance set during World War II entitled Rangoon (2017), Kapoor played the part of a taciturn soldier who develops a romance with a film actress (played by Kangana Ranaut). Filming was marred by a reported feud between Ranaut and Kapoor, and although they denied the reports, both stars publicly commented against the other. The film received mixed reviews; Rajeev Masand termed the film "overlong, indulgent to the point of exhaustion", but praised Kapoor for playing his part with "remarkable maturity". In addition, Uday Bhatia of Mint was appreciative of the chemistry between Ranaut and Kapoor. Rangoon failed to recoup its investment. Kapoor next played Rawal Ratan Singh,