Even before his Bollywood debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 2007 film Saawariya, Ranbir starred in the Oscar nominated film Karma. The film's cast also consists of Sharat Saxena, Milind Joshi, and Sushovan Banerjee, and has been selected to be screened on the Bandra Film Festival's (BFF) YouTube channel.
He worked on the film while he was in college with the film's director Abhay Chopra, grandson of veteran filmmaker B R Chopra. It also earned a nomination at the Student Oscars. The film first released in 2004, a time when anti-capital punishment revolutions had started. The short film follows the dilemma of a jailer when his own son is sentenced with the death penalty.
Speaking about the experience of working with Ranbir, Abhay Chopra said, "I have fond memories of directing Ranbir Kapoor. He had not even started his career back then. He is such an effortless actor. Acting really runs through his veins. Sharat Saxena has done a phenomenal job in the film and has such powerful screen presence. I’m glad I could tell this story and that it is getting an extended viewership at the Bandra Film Festival.”
He also added that Karma is inspired by the social landscape at the time of filming, "The year I made this film, capital punishment was a part of every prime-time debate and churned out scores of opinion pieces and cover stories."
Two other films have been selected to be screened on the channel, namely Mara Ahmed's A Thin Wall, and Nyay Bhushan's Backdrop. Ahmed's directorial follows stories from the Partition. According to an article in The Wire, the project was a collaboration between Ahmed and Surbhi Dewan (co-producer) who realized that both their families had been torn apart by the Partition. The documentary attempts to look at the historic event through an intimate lens.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)