Ranbir Kapoor,The Star Who Dons Many Masks  

Ravi Valluri

Saawariya, starring Ranbir Raj Kapoor was canned in 2007 and was his maiden feature. However, critical acclaim came his way for essaying the role of a hearing and speech impaired character in the wondrous motion picture Barfi.

The emotive feature film directed by Anurag Basu, won several accolades. It was nominated for the estimable 85 Oscar Awards in 2012. It was also screened at the prodigious Marrakech film festival and at the exalted Bussan International reverie.

Ranbir began his voyage into tinsel world by assisting Sanjay Leela Bhansali in 2005 for the alluring and critically acclaimed talkie, Black, starring Rani Mukherjee.

This celebrity is a product of the Method School of acting, who honed the craft at the School of Visual Arts, New York and subsequently was a tutee at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.

It is believed that in order to get under the skin of the character in the movie Rockstar, Ranbir followed all the tenets of Method Acting. The simpleton Janardhan in the film scales the summit but simultaneously leads himself to self-destruction.

To enact the role to the hilt , the artiste stayed with a Jat family in Pitam Pura, West Delhi for a considerable length of time and would also strum the guitar for hours at A R Rahman’s studio in order to pick up the subtle mannerisms characteristic of musicians; an indicator of his sterling commitment. In the realm of commercial cinema of Bollywood, one reckons that perhaps legends like Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan displayed such allegiance to their profession.

The year was 1982, yet another rambunctious and tumultuous year. Mark Thatcher, son of the iconic Iron Lady of Britain, Margaret Thatcher disappeared in the Sahara during Dakar Rally. Fortuitously for the denizens of Great Britain before they agreed to secede and gave thumbs up to Brexit, the son was rescued.

Meanwhile temperatures froze across the United States of America as a Cold Sunday swept across the northern part of the land on the 17 January that year. The Universe too played startling games; called the Jupiter Effect when eight planets in the Solar System were all aligned on the same side.

Back home in India, there were two important events in 1982 – Congress (I) lost power to NTR in Andhra Pradesh and Ramakrishna Hegde worsted the Congress in Karnataka. And the clan of Kapoor and sons continued. On 28 September of the same year Ranbir Raj Kapoor was born to Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh.

The fabled actor is among the Forbes list of 100 celebratory personalities. American critics have labelled him to perfect “The Art of Minimalist” for his portrayal in Prakash Jha’s political thriller, Rajneeti, inspired by Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and the immortal Indian epic, Mahabharata. The movie scorched Bollywood screens as it garnered $8.4million as earnings and catapulted Ranbir Kapoor to the realms of stratosphere.

It was however Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani which earned the producers gargantuan manna. This Ranbir Kapoor, Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif flick was the reportedly the fourth largest grosser of Bollywood in 2009. Wake Up Sid, another Ranbir starrer along with Konkana Sen Sharma and Anupam Kher, where a younger man falls for an older woman was termed as a sleeper hit for the unusual plot.

The artiste for his portrayals in Barfi, Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani, Rocket Singh – The Salesman of the Year and Sawarian has either been recommended or won Filmfare awards, which is certainly no mean achievement in a relatively short span of his film career.

Sanjay Dutt has certainly received a new lease of life through the dramatic portrayal by Ranbir Kapoor in Raj Kumar Hirani’s biopic Sanju. Released in June 2018, the movie has grossed US $81million. Kapoor essays the role in a manner that it is not hagiographic, but the narrative is captivating and engrossing. More importantly the movie re-established Ranbir Kapoor’s status as a bankable star on the Bollywood firmament.

Sheryl Crow was to sing, “The first cut is the deepest”. The first affair; even though merely an infatuation has an indelible impression on the human mind and heart. Ranbir was attracted to a prepossessing girl at a tender age in class seven. He has had his shares of alleged affairs with co-stars like Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt. These glittering names would make the hearts of stock individuals flutter.

“Yes, I was addicted to cigarettes and alcohol,” says this fabled star. This is not an achievement to endorse, but does indicate the candour in his persona.

Like several other celebrities in Bollywood, Ranbir has a streak of sportsmanship and an inane humane approach to life. He is a football enthusiast and patronises a club called All Star Football Club. He also supports, YUWA, an all girls soccer squad in a bijou town of Jharkhand.

Together with Aamir Khan he runs the Pani Foundation to provide succour to the parched throats of Mumbaikars. Ranbir in partnership with Shabana Azmi has established the Millennium Welfare Society for the impoverished and underprovided women of the financial capital of the country. When Nepal was subsumed by a devastating earthquake, he liberally provided assistance and ministration. Similarly, the cops of Mumbai were pleasantly surprised when he donated two thousand raincoats to brave the rains.

Like millions of individuals who traverse this planet, Ranbir has had his shades of black, grey and white on the roller-coaster ride in Bollywood. Says the trouper, “Personally, love is very important for me. There are lots of ordinary things in life, so love should be extraordinary, I hope I achieve that.”

Also Read: Ranbir Kapoor-The Rockstar