Finally a viable comparison.
Like the author, I am also a reluctant Ranbir fan. I never liked him in Saawariya or Bachna Ae Haseeno or APKGK, I thought his acting was over the top in all three. I had ruled him out as a OTT actor with goofy looks, with his only saving grace being his dancing skills. I never understood why people (Sonam Kapoor) were calling him a Greek God, because to me, frankly, he looks below average and more goofy than good looking.
And then, there was the deadpan yet cute Imran Khan to gush over in a debut role that suited him really well (JTYJN). (I was only to find out later that he didn't have much of a range as an actor, so I moved on pretty quickly.)
But then, I stumbled upon a dvd of Wake Up Sid. Sid was so believably wrote and portrayed that I never thought of "Ranbir the star" throughout the movie. To me, he was the naive aimless Sid throughout. This was when my conversion began and I gradually started liking Ranbir's acting. Then I saw Rocket Singh, Rajneeti and then came Rockstar. Needless to say the transformation from JJ to Jordan in Rockstar was seamless, and I was sold. So, these movies are the reason I am eagerly waiting to watch Barfi!
On Abhay Deol, to be very fair, I have only seen Aisha and ZNMD, and I am impressed by them. His "bwaai" scene in ZNMD had perfect comic timing. But I would have to see more of his films, especially from what I've read here Dev D and Shanghai, to comment on his range. But I have read his interviews, man, this guy is sorted. He comes across as intelligent, modern and very sorted out. A kind of guy that you would have a great conversation with or would have a mature relationship with.
Whereas Ranbir's off screen persona is confusing. His interviews are either too dull and repetitive or too revealing. He has the casanova image, but he doesn't carry it with elan, on the contrary, it seems to bother him a lot that he's labeled. Even on the reality shows (where he come to promote his films), he looks like he's putting up an act, and looks like it's taking a lot of effort out of him, which is very off putting. The only thing that's clear about him is that he is very ambitious, and will get to his goals soon, going by the long strides he's taken so far.
So, in my opinion, purely acting wise Ranbir is ahead but Abhay scores more when it comes to combining off screen persona as well.
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