This young man is in no hurry. Comparisons to the Khan triumvirate neither rattle him nor elevate his ego. He is aware of his lineage but is clear in his quest to establish his own identity. Meet Ranbir Kapoor. He is on the wish list of many-a-producer (and many-a-young lass, may we add!) but the 30-year-old actor says that his only USP is that he is aware of his strengths and weaknesses. “At 30, I can talk like this. I feel quite old actually at 30. Mature is possibly the right word to use,” says Ranbir, as he settles for a chat with the media.
That his ex-girlfriend and co-star in this Friday’s release Ayan Mukerji’s Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani , Deepika Padukone, is accompanying him hardly seems to affect the actor who is cordial yet playful but appears to maintain a respectful distance from her. No diplomatic answers here, he is practical about their past relationship.
“It is obvious that people will talk about our relationship since we are not together any longer and have yet done the film. If you ask me, it doesn’t matter if I am doing a kissing scene or a fight sequence. To me they are much the same. How can you possibly romance your co-star in front of a hundred people while shooting for an intimate scene! It is a mere technicality for us actors,” says Ranbir candidly.
The Kapoor scion says that the only thing that still perturbs him is when his off-screen personal relationships are written about. “I am a regular guy. Of course, I’d like some romance in my life. But the way it gets written about makes me sound like some sort of Casanova. I’d appreciate if people talk about my work in the past five years instead,” he adds.
When asked how he plans to build his career as a ‘superstar’, considering that he is doing varied work as against superstars who have built their status mainly in particular genres, Ranbir says, “I understood early on that I don’t have the charisma or the personality of either Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan for people to flock to the theatres. I tried to play to the gallery with Bachna Ae Haseeno thinking that just pure unadulterated me would work but its result made me think. What I can say about myself with certainty is that I realised my merits soon enough and when the offers to do unique films came my way, I saw the opportunity in them,” he admits.
Asked about being selective in his projects, Ranbir says that it is something he is doing consciously. “One thing is that I am not multi-talented. I can’t carry off two characters simultaneously. Secondly, I feel as actors we are quite close to being overexposed. Yesteryear actors had a mysterious quality about them. Limited accessibility worked in their favour. Nowadays, to promote films we appear on every TV show, show up at every mall. I am against it. That’s why I keep off social networking sites as well. In the middle of this exposure, I think it is best to work on a single film at a time.”
Proof of his strong sense of individuality comes when the actor is asked about the Kapoor lineage.
“I thank my family for putting that acting gene in me. But I’d like to be known for my own work. I hope I can make a space for myself in this industry. I think I am on the track,” he smiles.
