When professional success and personal fulfillment meet, old hurts are put to rest and life brims with possibilities. Ranbir Kapoor is in that special place right now.
By Nichola Marie
From ‘fine actor’ to ‘hero of the masses’ – it took one gigantic commercial hit to bring Ranbir Kapoor up front and centre like never before. Female fans have long nursed a soft spot for his gentle romanticism seen in films like ‘Barfi’ (2012), ‘Wake Up Sid’ (2009), ‘Tamasha’ (2015) and ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ (2013). Critics have consistently raved about his underplayed naturalness in films like ‘Raajneeti’ (2010), ‘Rockstar’ (2011), ‘Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year’ (2009), and ‘Sanju’ (2018). Directors admire his blend of technique and instinct in his approach to roles. But it took the thumping, testosterone-driven ‘Animal’ (2023) to make him the darling of the box office – something that had largely proved elusive to Kapoor so far. With his applause-winning performance as the hardened son of a powerful industrialist who vows to take bloody revenge on those threatening his father’s life, he has finally and resoundingly won over the men too.
Evaluating Kapoor’s success, film business expert Akshay Rathi pointed out in ‘India Today’, “Not only is the film a box office hit, but it has taken his reach beyond the metro and urban audiences he’s usually popular with. It has made him a darling of the masses, which makes it a huge gearshift in his career.”
The unanimous verdict in the trade is that Kapoor should complete his image transition from romantic roles to action performances, which have greater box office potential. Hardcore commercial cinema should be his focus, because “that’s where the moolah lies,” advises veteran trade analyst Komal Nahata. If he is to match up to the success of the Khans and enter their league, he must deliver blockbusters consistently. “‘Brahmastra’ did very well and now with ‘Animal’ being a blockbuster, he’s onto becoming a superstar and he will not have a dearth of films after this, especially since more and more commercial filmmakers feel inclined to sign him now, having seen how beautifully he delivers,” Nahata surmises.
A Step Up
Fourth-generation actor of the Kapoor clan, he is calm and clear about his priorities. He analyses it well in the WTF People podcast with Nikhil Kamath, explaining, “I was kind of stagnating and had reached a saturation point in my career. I was called the next superstar for a very long time and I’m not saying I’m a superstar today – unless you have continuous blockbuster films, you can’t be called a superstar – but I think ‘Animal’, what it did is it was the correct film at the right time to kind of just at least take another step up, otherwise I’ve been kind of flatlined in the same status so that was very important for me, for my confidence. It was very important for me to kind of change, you know, shift from a boy to a man in some ways.”
As all eyes are on him now to see how he will capitalise on his new-found popularity with the audience, buzz has it that his next big outing will be Nitesh Tiwari’s adaptation of the Hindu epic ‘Ramayana’, in which he will essay the lead role of Lord Ram. The film, bringing to the big screen what is India’s most universally appealing story, could catapult Kapoor to pan-India superstardom, reaching a vast swathe of audiences across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities and multiplexes. He is reportedly also in talks to headline one of the biggest Hindi film franchises – ‘Dhoom 4’, with YashRaj Films’ head honcho Aditya Chopra considering him the ideal choice to carry forward the ‘Dhoom’ legacy. Also in the pipeline are Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Love & War’, which also stars Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal, and the sequel to Vanga’s ‘Animal’, titled ‘Animal Park’. The road ahead is full of promise!
A Time To Heal
Keeping pace with his professional conquests is his increasing emotional stability. He speaks of being indifferent, detached, having an avoidant attachment style, from a very young age, linking its origin to the feelings of pain he would experience as a child of around five or six. “Something used to break,” within him whenever a particular friend of his used to leave home after playing together, and “…it used to really burn inside… I think maybe I just closed up and I just detached myself from everybody. Maybe it was that, maybe I was born that way, I don’t know.”
It didn’t help that while he had a great equation with his mother, his father was distant though loved and respected. “I stopped crying very early on… I didn’t cry when my father passed away.” When the doctor told him at the hospital that it would be his father’s last night, he went up to the room and had a panic attack. “I don’t know how to express myself… I don’t know what was happening, there’s too much to take but I don’t think I’ve grieved. I don’t think I’ve understood the loss.”
He admits that he feels guilt, as much guilt as his father felt while he was going away. “That one year that we spent together in New York while his treatment was on, he often spoke about that. Once I was there for a 45-day stretch and he came to my room and just started crying. He’s never shown that kind of weakness to me and it was so awkward for me because I didn’t know if I should hold him, hug him. And I realised the distance and I feel guilty that I didn’t have the grace to let go of the distance or the glass between us and go and hug him or give him some love.” The ingrained idea of being responsible for his mother, sister, wife and child, he believes, also prevented him from ‘showing any weakness’.
His attempts to seek therapy didn’t work for him either, possibly because he was unable to honestly express himself to the therapist, and also because he felt in some way the therapist was teaching him how to manipulate life – an approach that did not resonate with him.
The emotional thaw — the game-changer — has come organically with his becoming a parent. It is making him question detachment and indifference because he feels like he has been reborn. “The 40 years of my life that I’ve lived was another life, this is another life which is starting, so feeling a lot of new kind of emotions, a lot of new kind of feelings are creeping in, new thoughts…” He likens the feeling to someone taking your heart out and putting it in your hand. For a man who has never feared death, and claimed to be mentally prepared to die at 71 (because the figures add up to his favourite numeral 8), he now feels that would be too soon; “that’s like another 30 years only!”
The Value Of Commitment
His newfound emotional stability sees him open up with surprising candour about a range of personal issues, including his infamous Casanova tag. “I have dated two very successful actresses in the past, which became my identity. I got the tag of being a Casanova and a cheater. I have lived with the label of being a cheater for a very large part of my life. I am still living with it,” he says but without much rancor. Being in a different head — and heart — space, has made a huge difference.
Sounding most un-Casanova-like, Kapoor now agrees with the ‘one woman forever’ credo, explaining, “I think that’s the only way, right? I mean that’s the only healthy way of living because I wouldn’t want my woman to be with somebody else; I won’t be able to accept that, so it’s only fair that that person expects the same from me. I don’t want to hurt the person I love, I don’t want to hurt Alia and I definitely don’t want to hurt my daughter, so I will definitely not do anything which will ever make them question me.”
He considers himself lucky to have married somebody who he is extremely close to as a friend. “Like we can really chat, laugh, you know, like she’s my best friend. I got very lucky with how Alia is as a person. Alia is a wonderful person, she’s very colourful.” He shares that he has immense respect for her as an actor, as an artiste, as a person, as a daughter, and as a sister. “She really makes me smile, you know. I’m very happy to go home to her. I love going on a holiday with her but I love coming home with her. Also, she is in a good mood a lot of the time. She is a very ambitious girl and she’s an overachiever. She’s really passionate about her work, extremely intelligent.” He also credits her with making certain efforts for his sake, such as giving him her undivided attention if he speaks, or even subduing her loud tone of voice; something that rattled him as growing up, his father had a similar tone.
New Directions
Today, more than ever, he does not take his job for granted. “I know what success is, I know what failure is, I’m very balanced about it. Anyway, the person I am, I’ve never felt an extreme high and I don’t feel extreme lows, so if it’s a successful film, it’s more like (relief) till the next one comes and if it’s a failure, like, let’s try harder again.”
Alongside, he has also embarked on a new journey as an entrepreneur, with the launch of his lifestyle brand, ARKS. Coinciding with his 42nd birthday, he unveiled his brainchild on social media, generating immense excitement among fans. The video showcased him lounging on a lawn, gazing at the sky, and envisioning the brand’s logo and philosophy.
Life’s good!
