Comedy, political thriller and drama – Ranbir Kapoor’s body of work boasts of variety and that too in just four years of filmdom
The grandson of the legendary Raj Kapoor says he wants to grow with every character and be “the biggest star”. In the last four years, chocolate boy Ranbir Kapoor has grown up as an actor. He entered the industry with
Saawariya and did light-hearted dramas like
Bachna Ae Haseeno and
Wake Up Sid and it was his mature performance in
Raajneeti that changed everyone’s perception of him. Now with
Rockstar and
Barfee, he feels he is on the right path.
“I hope I can grow with every character I do. I want to be the biggest star. I want to be the best actor and I feel I am on the right path. I have been fortunate that I have worked with such talented directors,” said Ranbir. Undeterred by negative talk, he says, “I am happy with my growth and the way my career is shaping up. People have tried to pull me down with negative reviews and never-ending rumours. But that doesn’t affect me at all now. I have become numb to such stories. I have learnt how to detach myself. It doesn’t bother me or my peace of mind.”
The great grandson of the legendary Prithviraj Kapoor, grandson of Bollywood’s one and only showman Raj Kapoor and son of yesteryear stars Neetu and Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir is finally finding a firm foothold as an actor. His debut vehicle
Saawariya (2007) was a damp squib at the box office, but Ranbir rose above the film’s fate and won the Filmfare award for the best male debut.
In his short career he has pushed the envelope by doing different roles like a lover boy in
Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani, a casanova in
Bachna Ae Haseeno and a calculative scion of a political family in
Raajneeti.
When asked about his role in
Rockstar, he said: “I play a Jat boy from Delhi, who lives in Pitampura. He studies in the Hindu college and plays the guitar. It is not about music, it is a love story where music is incidental…people tell him that to get the best out of you, you should go through a heartbreak. So, deliberately he falls in love….” Essaying a jat boy was not a cakewalk for Ranbir as he couldn’t find a common connect with his character. “My character comes from a different stratum of society. He is somebody whom I haven’t met in my life. So it was very hard for me to get into his skin. So I went and spent a lot of time with a Jat family in Delhi. It was very important for me to observe them, to pick up certain nuances,” he said.
Though he plays an aspiring musician in the film, Ranbir lacks the art in real life and would like to exercise his vocal chords some day. “Music is the purest form to reach millions of hearts and it has always been on my side. It is a disadvantage that I can’t sing. My mother tried that I get a hold of it, but my teachers also confessed that I can’t. It’s one of my aspirations that I would want to fulfill. I would want to lend my voice someday,” he said.
His grandfather was the youngest director at his time, and Ranbir too harbours the dream of wielding the megaphone. “I want to direct but the problem is I don’t think I can pen my thoughts and vision on paper beautifully. I want to make something like
Shree 420 or
Jagte Raho. I want to make films that would be relatable, that would spread joy and love. Yes, I would also want to star in my own films without a doubt.”
So what next?
“I would want to do an out-and-out negative film. I want to play with characters, I want to explore myself. People ask me if I want to do an action film because action films are in vogue. I would definitely do one in some time, but not when it is being followed as a trend. I will do it when I feel it is the best time for me to get into such a role.”
