In my little book, he’s the one who could and should be headed for superstardom.
Enough of the Khan trinity. We need a hero who’s alive to the spirit and vagaries of this millennium.
A few decidedly wrong choices and he became the butt of squelchers though. In fact, when I ran into him a couple of months ago, he smiled, “Uncle, you are the only one who likes my movies.” “Well, I had issues with Bombay Velvet and er… Besharam wasn’t exactly happening” I snorted to which he responded, “That’s understandable. Everyone felt the same way.”
Incidentally, he’s the only actor who’s allowed to call me ‘Uncle’, with the exception of Salman Khan who felt I was avuncular during his Hum Aapke Hain Koun..? boom time daze. Coming from Ranbir Kapoor, ‘Uncle’ is but natural, he’s courtesy personified and will ask, “So have you seen any good movies lately… Uncle?”
“I have been watching American TV series on Netflix mainly,” I answer and the conversation drifts from the acidic aftertaste of Breaking Bad to the thoroughly madcap Shameless.
Now today (September 28), Ranbir is in the midst of promoting Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The promos have been received rapturously by my friends and acquaintances. YouTube hits have been massive. Shown belting out the Sufi number Bulleya, it’s plain as day that no one can play a love besotted songster with as much conviction as he does, his eyes speak.
Here are excerpts, then, from a Q&A with RK Jr:
Q. Down nearly a decade ever since Saawariya (2007), you must have done thousands of interviews. What have you been asked generally?
Ranbir Kapoor: How it feels to be an actor, about the RK legacy, about the pressures and more than anything else about the women in my life. Yet broadly speaking, journalists have been kind. While talking to them, I hope not to sound like a stuck record or a voice machine.
Q. You were once anointed a gay icon. Did that faze you?
RK:
Not at all. I accepted that as a compliment the way I would have if a girl had said something sweet to me. Whatever one’s sexual preference may be, that’s an accepted norm in today’s society.
When I was studying cinema at New York’s School of Visual Arts and later at the Lee Strasberg Studio, some of the guys were gay. It was no big deal. Randy Salo who made a short film called Barbarian Invasions, is gay, and one of the most brilliant minds I’ve met.
Q. At the school, did you act in and direct short films?
RK: Yes, they had titles like Passion to Love, Undeclared Love and I Fall Asleep. I really liked Undeclared Love in which a boy loves a girl silently.. and discovers that she loved him too but only at her gravestone.
Q. Which was the first film ever offered to you?
RK: (Shyly) Funny, you should ask me this Uncle. You offered me Fiza. I didn’t know whether I wanted to become an actor or director then. I had loved Devdas. I assisted on Black.. and I kept wondering why Mr Bhansali doesn’t offer me a role in one of his projects?
Q. Is it true that you quit as assistant director because Mr Bhansali slapped you... or threw a cell phone at you?
RK: Nothing like that ever happened. He doesn’t ever get angry without a reason. He can shout at you when you’re goofing up.
Q. To come to your parents -- Rishi and Neetu Kapoor – what’s the equation like nowadays?
RK: With dad, there has been a middle ground. We are as friendly as a father and son can be. I’m scared of his I-won’t-take-nonsense-from anyone personality. Mum’s my best friend… I can tell her about my dark side, about my girlfriends, anything.
Q. There was a period when they nearly split. Did that affect you?
RK:
That affected me big time. My sister (Ridhima) was out of town. I would sit on the stairs alone and wish that they wouldn’t say things to each other, which they didn’t mean. And see, they came through that difficult period. I really believe their love is forever. I can feel the intensity, the depth of the love my dad has for mum.
Mum has the gift for calming every storm. That period made me grow up, mature. I understood that there have to be bad moments with the good. (Emotionally) I understood duniyadaari.
Q. Apparently, during your teenage years you were very much in love with a girl in Bombay and you were miserable when you broke up.
RK: (Reluctantly) She was my childhood sweetheart. We were in school together for eight years. I couldn’t think of life without her.
For me, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. But a point came, when we had to go our separate ways. She’s very happy today, well-settled and is married to a brilliant guy. I could never be as wonderful as him. She and I are in touch on and off, we SMS each other on our birthdays.
Q. How did you deal with heartache?
RK: I guess you just fall in and out of love with each other. Love can be so complicated. I didn’t talk to dad or mum about my childhood love but mum could tell and she was very supportive.
Q. Would you deny those stories linking you with Nandita Mahtani before you joined the movies?
RK: All I can say is that while growing up, I was infatuated with her. I found her beautiful, simple and warm, so unlike the socialite she is made out to be. We went out for dinners, it was nothing serious. Mum knew I had a crush on her.
Q. Okay, I’ll spare you the Katrina Kaif question… here’s the Deepika Padukone question instead.
RK: (Blushes) I met her through common friends at a restaurant… a club actually. We liked each other’s company but before we could even think about how we felt about each other, it was all over the newspapers... and so many unwanted, spicy things were written. So we mutually decided to concentrate on our careers.
Q. Do you talk to her on the phone now?
RK: Not much.
Q. Any career ambitions?
RK: Some day besides acting I do want to produce and direct films. There’s no time frame for this. When I have something to tell. When I get an eureka idea I’ll go for it.
Q. Are you in touch with the entire Kapoor clan?
RK: I’m in touch every day with dadiji (Krishna Raj Kapoor), Daboo and Chimpu uncle and Reema Aunty. I may not be close to Kareena and Karisma. But Kareena has been very supportive... she SMSes me if she likes a photograph of mine. The clan is busy in their own work but there is an unspoken emotional solidarity. (Laughs) I guess you could call us the Don Corleones of Indian cinema.
(The writer is a film critic, filmmaker, theatre director and a weekend painter.)
(This story is from The Quint’s archives and is being republished to mark Ranbir Kapoor’s birthday.)
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