Ranbir Kapoor sits in a black tee, blue jeans and a dark textured bomber jacket, smiling, fraternizing, cool as a cat before his first release in four years. We’re at Stage 3 of Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai; it’s a typically gloomy, rain-lashed July afternoon. Outside, along the studio premises, Yash Chopra leans musingly on a vintage movie camera. The filmmaker’s glistening bronze statue is so lifelike you’d be tempted to pause and click a picture, to the annoyance of alarmed guards.
Yash Raj is an old home for Ranbir. Two of the actor’s early films, the hit Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) and the critically-acclaimed Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009), were produced by YRF, while his father, late actor Rishi Kapoor, was a veteran of the banner.
One can imagine both Rishi Kapoor and Yash Chopra approving of Ranbir’s latest tryst with YRF. Shamshera, a big, broad-canvas action adventure, is meant as a tribute to the glory days of Hindi commercial cinema. It’s also a major turnaround for Ranbir, who seemed stuck, by his own admission, in a loop of comparable coming-of-age roles.
Ranbir Kapoor sits in a black tee, blue jeans and a dark textured bomber jacket, smiling, fraternizing, cool as a cat before his first release in four years. We’re at Stage 3 of Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai; it’s a typically gloomy, rain-lashed July afternoon. Outside, along the studio premises, Yash Chopra leans musingly on a vintage movie camera. The filmmaker’s glistening bronze statue is so lifelike you’d be tempted to pause and click a picture, to the annoyance of alarmed guards.
Yash Raj is an old home for Ranbir. Two of the actor’s early films, the hit Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008) and the critically-acclaimed Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009), were produced by YRF, while his father, late actor Rishi Kapoor, was a veteran of the banner.
One can imagine both Rishi Kapoor and Yash Chopra approving of Ranbir’s latest tryst with YRF. Shamshera, a big, broad-canvas action adventure, is meant as a tribute to the glory days of Hindi commercial cinema. It’s also a major turnaround for Ranbir, who seemed stuck, by his own admission, in a loop of comparable coming-of-age roles.
As a belated action hero, Ranbir is thrilled to add new shades to his acting persona, from young boy to seething rebel. It’s an admittedly big year for the actor. Famously absent from social media, he is presently all over it, with two separate news cycles hyping up Shamshera and Brahmastra. Overpowering both, of course, is the interest in his personal life. Ranbir married girlfriend Alia Bhatt in April this year; last month, the couple announced their first pregnancy. The feeling of approaching fatherhood consumes his every waking hour. “There is no other feeling I am looking forward to,” he says, chuckling a bit as he strains for fresh adjectives. “It’s the greatest gift. Both Alia and I have been blessed with it and we are really, really looking forward to it.”
Sanjay Dutt in conversation
Your performance in KGF: Chapter 2 is still being raved about. How different is Daroga Shuddh Singh from the villainous characters you’ve played in the past?
Each character I play is entirely contrasting from the other. If you see Kancha Cheena from Agneepath (2012), he had a complex and was a tough guy. In KGF 2, if you notice Adheera, he was a larger-than-life character and loves KGF. In Shamshera, Karan wanted this character in a different zone and worked that hard to make Shuddh Singh a crafty and tough-to-beat person. I would say my character in Shamshera is indeed a mix of all the crazy stuff I have done in the past.
What are your thoughts about the current trend in Hindi cinema? Do you think Shamshera will bring back the audience to theatres?
I think the timing has been right because the audience really enjoyed an action spectacle like KGF 2. We hope that Shamshera is a new experience among all the films we have watched recently. I believe it has all the emotions of the recent films and I think it’s a new animal.
How do you sum up your journey of Shamshera?
I have already worked with Karan (in Agneepath). I am a kind of an actor, who surrenders to my director. If need be, I will share my ideas or suggestions with my directors and until now, they all have been welcoming. Karan makes absolutely commercial yet larger-than-life films. In his films, you don’t get to see his heroines dancing around the trees as they will also have strong and powerful roles. He is a man of great vision, and conviction and I am sure he has got the best out of us. I am hoping that Shamshera pays off because we worked hard on it.