The era of Ranbir
It's a rainy evening in Mumbai. Ranbir Kapoor, dressed in a beanie and boxing gloves, is sizing up his tattooed adversary in the mirrors that line actor Jackky Bhagnani's private gym on Bandra's Pali Hill. He gingerly moves forward, thinking too hard about his technique and his footwork as he throws a few opening jabs. A blow catches him smack on his head, forcing him to let out a groan; and then another. Screaming to motivate himself, Ranbir lunges forward, now hitting harder and with more purpose as he exchanges blows with mixed martial arts fighter Ash Singh, who has flown in from Kenya especially for sessions like this one. Soon the gymnasium is reverberating with the sounds of a pitched battle. The thuds are getting amplified, and so is the tension. A few minutes later, when master and trainee are taking a break, Ranbir asks with a grin: "That was hard, wasn't it?" He takes a sip of water, breaks into a smile as he checks his messages, and gets ready for another round of punishment.
Ranbir Kapoor, 30, is India's new acting superstar. His latest film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, released on May 31, has notched up collections of Rs.170 crore at last count, on the back of another Rs.100-crore blockbuster, Barfi!. His new custom-made Mercedes Benz G63 AMG now gets chased down the Bandra-Worli Sea Link by teenagers who recognise him through his lightly tinted windows. There is a gaggle of girls waiting at the gate of his Pali Hill bungalow for an audience; some so persistent and regular they're on first-name terms with his watchman, particularly because Ranbir gets pictures clicked with each one of them. Sanjeev Lamba, the CEO of Reliance Entertainment, which is funding his film, Besharam, describes him simply as a "rocket".
But in the middle of all this adulation, Ranbir seems strangely unaffected. "I don't know what's wrong with my son," his mother Neetu Singh, 54, tells India Today. "This boy is as relaxed when his film doesn't do well as he is when it's a smash hit. I sometimes wonder if I gave birth to a yogi." His father Rishi Kapoor, 60, a bullish patriarch who admits he had gone on a wild streak after his own debut film Bobby had smashed boxoffice records in 1973, describes Ranbir as his polar opposite. "I marvel at what keeps him so grounded," he says, swelling in equal measure with pride and bewilderment.
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From the Editor-in-Chief
Every superstar in the Hindi film industry has banked on a formula to become a national icon. If Rajesh Khanna was the eternal romantic of the 1960s, Amitabh Bachchan embodied the repressed anger of a young nation in the 1970s. The 1990s belonged to Shah Rukh Khan, who represented a post-liberalisation globalised generation. He gave a new twist to the romantic lover boy, naughty and passionate, yet totally devoted to Indian values. Ranbir Kapoor, the new superstar of Indian cinema, doesn't have a formula to his stardom.
He is just 30 and has done 10 films since his towel-dropping debut in Sanjay Leela Bansali's Saawariya in 2007, but it's impossible to slot him in any particular image. From the goofy salesman in Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year (2009) to the scheming political heir in Raajneeti (2010), from the good Samaritan in Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009) to the superstar rocker in Rockstar (2011), from the aimless and confused youngster in Wake Up Sid (2009) to the ambitious traveller in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (YJHD), his roles are as varied as that of a seasoned character actor.
This is a rather curious phenomenon in the Hindi film industry which is likely to be worth nearly Rs.30,000 crore next year. Ranbir defies almost all the market tricks supposed to ensure an entry into the coveted Rs.100-crore club-six-pack abs, gravity-defying action sequences, mindless comedy, provocative item numbers and songs with beautiful women in foreign locations. Movie-goers paid to watch him not utter a single word in Barfi! and lose his girl in Rockstar. This is where Ranbir has evolved beyond his star power. His biggest USP is perhaps this element of unpredictability. Viewers still don't know what to expect of him.
Deputy Editor Kunal Pradhan spent 50 hours over four days with Ranbir to decode the man behind the star. He followed the actor to his film shoots, discussed film promos in his vanity van, worked out with the actor in the gym and even spent time with him in his first-floor room. In his real world, the reel superstar is quite predictable. He still lives with his parents, is obsessed with video games, watches football with friends and is terrified of his dominating father. "Interviewing Ranbir feels like hanging out with any regular person just entering his 30s. He is unafraid to reveal himself, which is a rare trait in any public figure, particularly an actor," says Pradhan.
Being on the cover of India Today was one of Ranbir's four wishes when he joined films. With this issue, his wish gets fulfilled twice over. We put him on the cover first in our June 21, 2010, issue for being the boy wonder who dared to shun formulaic films. Three years later, that risk-taking ability has allowed him to be emblematic of new-age Bollywood. The real big test for the actor is what he will do from here. As his friend Ayan Mukerji, director of YJHD, says: "To see how he changes as a superstar will be interesting. When he's 40, will he still be open to meeting a young, unknown director with a new script? That will decide whether he becomes the next Shah Rukh Khan or someone even bigger."
That's for later. Let's revel now, in the new superstar hero who's defying every stereotype of superstardom.
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