(Ajit Rai, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

Director Raj Kapoor is my idol, not actor Raj Kapoor, says Ranveer Kapoor on his grand father in Jeddah.

Rembering his grandfather Raj Kapoor at the 2nd Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Ranbir Kapoor says that Rajkapoor is his role model and biggest inspiration, but it is not Raj Kapoor who impresses him much as an actor, but as a director I idealize him more.

For Raj Kapoor his grandson Ranbir says, he is my role model. On the occasion, Variety International Vanguard Award by Martin Dale on behalf of Variety magazine was presented to him.

‘Knew Raj Kapoor through the parents’

About liking Raj Kapoor’s films, Ranbir Kapoor holds that I like many of his films like Shree 420, Awara, Jagte Raho, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Prem Rog. He passed away when I was six years old, so I don’t have much memory of him except what I heard about him from my parents (Neetu & Rishi Kapoor) and got to know him by watching his films. I have learned a lot from him about life and cinema by watching his films.

An emotional Ranbir Kapoor says,  ”I am proud to be the grandson of Raj Kapoor but being in the Kapoor family I find it a responsibility, not a burden or pressure. It is not a ‘taken for granted’ thing for me. I will always be grateful to Raj Kapoor for what he did for our family and the importance he gave us in the world. I don’t want someone to say tomorrow that I am in the film industry because I am Raj Kapoor’s grandson. (I don’t want people to say that I am just a grandson of Raj Kapoor, not an actor.)

‘There is no geographical boundary for an actor!’

A Pakistani filmmaker asked Ranbir Kapoor – ”Today no Pakistani can make a film in India and no Indian can work in Pakistan, would you like to work in my film outside these two countries, for example in Saudi Arabia? ”Why not!” said Ranbir Kapoor. He continued, ‘There is no boundary for an artist. I congratulate Pakistani film industry for making a super hit film like ‘Maula Jatt’. We have not seen such a film in the last several years.” (Maula Jaat will eventually release in India by end of December)

On a question asked about the upbringing of his newborn daughter, Ranbir Kapoor said that the delight of being a father of a girl child is something different. It was an exciting time for us. As soon as I say that I have become a father to a baby girl, I have a lovely feeling within my heart. Also the feeling is great when you work with a girl, become friends, fall in love, become husband and wife and finally become parents to a baby girl. I work 280 days in a year and Alia (Bhatt) works more than me. We take turns taking breaks from work to take care of the child. Parenting is a challenging job. You want to pass on all the values to your child, you have inherited from the parents. You have to set an example in front of the child.

‘Started career with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’

Talking about his film career, Ranbir Kapoor tells that after doing a nine-month course in method acting from the famous The Lee Strasberg Theater and Film School in New York, when I worked as his assistant in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film ‘Black’ (2005). When I started working in the film, a new world kept opening up before me. Earlier I used to think that anyone can do acting by wearing make-up. While learning acting algorithm, I felt that it was something else. Not everyone can do it. I learned a lot while working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. My father (Rishi Kapoor) used to take my car and I had to travel by public transport. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a really hard task master when it comes to work. I was one of his twenty assistants. All these things grew me more down to earth.

Going down the memory lane, said the Bollywood star, ”It was the first time I saw veteran actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in action. It was for the first time I came to know the magic of acting. It was he who gave me my break in his film ‘Saawariya’ (2007). On the question asked about method acting, he said that every film is made with its own method. When I was doing Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rock Star’ which was about a musician, I didn’t know how to sing or play, even today I don’t. I locked myself in AR Rahman’s studio in Chennai for forty days. I started learning about what goes into a musician. I didn’t know how to play the violin.”

‘Could not follow Amir Khan’s advise’

”With Imtiyaz Ali, I met many people at various places. He introduced me to Janardan Jhakhar, who was a big JJ rockstar in Delhi. I worked very hard. When I was starting out in films, I went to Aamir Khan for advice. He told me to pack my luggage and leave for the country by train. Thus meeting people, seeing places and trying to understand different cultures, many things can be learnt for becoming a good actor. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it. But I definitely want to give this advice to the youth who want to become an actor, ” continues the actor.

Raj Kapoor’s grand son says, after working in the films Saawariya and Bachna Ae Haseeno, I started feeling that being an actor only meant being a hero. But when the script of Wake Up Sid came, it seemed that you are not acting any more, now it’s time to play a character.

‘Awaiting to do the sequel of Brahmastra’

On the experience of working with director Ayan Mukerji, he said that doing ‘Brahmastra Bhag Ek Shiva’ with him after ‘Wake Up Sid’ (2009) and ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013) was a dream project. It is a very expensive film. I am also waiting for the second part of this film.

Sharing his experience of shooting Prakash Jha’s film Raajneeti in Bhopal, Ranbir says that he liked the script even though it was inspired by ‘Godfather’ or Mahabharata. I was given the role of Arjun. I admit now that I didn’t understand much during the shooting of the film, but at the time of dubbing, when things started opening up, I understood how deep and meaningful this film is. I will regret that why I could not do my character more deeply in the film Rajneeti. The most important part of that film was the city of Bhopal, its people and the Noor-e-Saba Hotel. Even today I want to shoot one of my films in Bhopal.

‘Sanjay Datt was my ideal as an actor’

Regarding Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanjay Dutt film ‘Sanju’, Ranbir says, he has been a fan of Sanjay Dutt since childhood. My sister used to put up posters of Salman Khan in her almirah while I used to put up posters of Sanjay Dutt. Rajkumar Hirani is a great filmmaker of Indian cinema. When he messaged me to read the script of Sanju, I quickly replied that it cannot be a Sanjay Dutt biopic. By then it was in the press that Rajkumar Hirani was going to make Sanjay Dutt’s biopic. How can you make a biopic of an actor who is still alive, active and acting? Hirani has been making different kind of films whereas the film on Sanjay Dutt has been very deep and graphic.

When the film was released, many things were said, for example, Sanjay Dutt was called clean. The other challenge before me was how deeply I could play this character. I did a lot of homework. I would reach the location at 2:30 in the morning, it would take one and a half hour to apply makeup and then non-stop shooting would start for twelve hours, then it would take one and a half hour to remove makeup.

‘Was ‘Shamshera’ my mistake?’

Corona came after the release of Sanju. My father Rishi Kapoor fell ill and we had to take him to New York for treatment but we could not save him. Brahmastra had started. It took three and a half years to build. Then came Shamshera which proved to be a disaster at the box office. My mistake was that I was shooting in the scorching heat with a beard and my face was melting like glue. I could neither smile nor talk properly.

Responding to a question on Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Bombay Velvet’, Ranbir Kapoor says, this film was also a big disaster. Initially I was very excited about Anurag Kashyap and other actors. But what happens when the making of the film starts, you surrender everything. You have no control over that process. After that I produced a film Anurag Basu’s ‘Jagga Jasoos’ and that too turned out to be a disaster. This hurt my heart a lot. Film making is an expensive business. Here audience is the king. Making a masala film is even more difficult. You have to put everything in it. I worked very hard in Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Tamasha’, even today people talk about that film. Till today I could not understand why the flick did not work. Now I have come to understand the reality and decided that during this  last phase of my career, I will do only commercial films for the audience.

‘Barfi’ was my tribute to Grandpa’

I come from a family whose many members have achieved great achievements in cinema. In Anurag Basu’s ‘Barfi’ I have given a tribute to my grandfather Raj Kapoor who was a great fan of Charlie Chaplin, I am also his fan. But Raj Kapoor was the ultimate hero who could do tragedy in comedy and comedy in tragedy. Being from the Kapoor family, it is true that I got opportunities in films easily while others find it a bit difficult.

Ranbir Kapoor says, he entered Hindi films when there were just a couple of young heroes and the senior ones were getting old. That was the right time for me. I got only commercial films like Wake Up Sid, Rock Star, Rajneeti. At that time I did not get art film or any independent film. It took me many years to understand the film industry, its culture and roles. The biggest advantage of studying in New York was that I learned to be alone. Learn about other’s culture by talking to classmates. I was introvert from the beginning, so I was never selected in the Dramatic Society in school and college. I learned a lot while studying abroad.

Revealing about his upcoming two films, Ranbir says, hopefully the audience will like them. Luv Ranjan’s first film is a romantic comedy where Shraddha Kapoor is the co-actor with him. The film will release on March 8 next year. The other film is Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s  -Animal, which is a gangster film, releasing on August 23 next year.

– Ajit Rai, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia