What makes Ranbir Kapoor different and ready to experiment

Ranbir Kapoor has returned to the theatres after four years. The actor has appeared in a double role in the Karan Malhotra-helmed period drama Shamshera, which has started sluggishly at the box office. The film’s story and screenplay have been heavily criticised, but the actor’s fans will be happy to know that he has lived up to expectations as the larger-than-life hero(es).

Ranbir’s performance as the leader of a 19th-century tribe and his son shows that he has put his heart into the assignment. He has developed a lean and muscular physique and conveyed the mannerisms of his characters with conviction. The film is flawed, at times, insufferable, but the actor captures the viewer’s attention whenever he appears on the screen.

The actor is in his comfort zone as the chocolate hero, and his boy-next-door good looks can guarantee work for him in films with urban tropes easily. However, Ranbir is that rare modern-day Bollywood star who wants to play characters that allow him to explore the unexplored. He is the kind of actor that is hard to find, someone who can play the central role in big-budget films with unusual ideas. He is a driven man who can deliver the desired outcome when the screenwriter gets it right.

As Ranbir inches towards his 40th birthday, can he continue to get mass-friendly projects that attempt to steer clear of stereotypes? Much will depend on Shamshera and Ayan Mukerji’s Brahmastra: Part One –Shiva, the latter an even more ambitious project that got stuck in development hell and will finally release on 22 December this year. The first part of a planned trilogy, Brahmastra has been made with an estimated budget of Rs 300 crore. That’s a lot of money, especially at a time when the average Hindi film’s inability to attract a sufficient number of viewers is evident.

Many critics have highlighted the weaknesses in ‘Shamshera’, which will discourage the potential viewer. It has reportedly collected Rs 10 crore on the opening day, which is good for a medium budget film, but disappointing news for a film on which the producer Aditya Chopra has spent an estimated Rs 150 crore. If the film breaks even and makes some more despite the initial feedback, the credit will go to Ranbir, who owns his characters and rises above the script as good actors often do.

Few believed that Ranbir could play the protagonist and convince the viewer when he had signed on the dotted line for Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju (2018). A biopic based on actor Sanjay Dutt’s life, the film was destined to invite comparisons between Ranbir as Dutt and the real Sanjay Dutt, the latter a formidable presence in Bollywood. (Incidentally, Dutt is in the news for playing the villain in Shamshera).

The original Bad Boy of Bollywood, Dutt lost his mother at a young age and shared an uneasy relationship with his father, Sunil Dutt. He got addicted to drugs and alcohol. He was arrested under the TADA and the Arms Act for his alleged role in the 1993 Mumbai bombings. The court acquitted him under the TADA but found him guilty of violating the Arms Act. He was a free man after serving out his sentence on 25 February, 2016.

The film’s release proved Ranbir’s ability to push the envelope. As a young Dutt, he made us notice the similarities between the character and the actual man. As an older Dutt, he ‘was’ Dutt. It was the best performance of his career, which compensated for the film’s shortcomings and turned it into a blockbuster.

Sanju was the best addition to his list of fine performances, among them his effortless portrayal of a young man drifting aimlessly through life in Ayan Mukerji’s coming-of-age comedy-drama Wake Up Sid (2009). In Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009), a remarkably well-made comedy-drama stressing the importance of goodness, he is an idealistic salesman, who is disillusioned after he joins a computer firm.

An actor like Ranbir must believe that the audiences are willing to accept experimentation in big-budget cinema. That, he does, which has resulted in Imtiaz Ali’s musical drama Rockstar (2011) in which he is a North Delhi lad who idolises Jim Morrison and eventually becomes a rock star.

In Anurag Basu’s romantic comedy Barfi!, a film as sweet as its title (2012), he is a good-hearted deaf and mute boy who journeys through life with a winsome smile and eventually dies in bed in his old age along with his autistic wife. A decade after its release, Barfi! is a pleasant memory.

Interesting ideas attract Ranbir. Talented and hardworking, he is willing to take risks. He might look like an urban hero, but he wants to reach the masses without being repetitive. He has also made mistakes and worked in bad films. But then, infallibility is a virtue of the gods.

The author is a freelance writer and author. Views expressed are personal.

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