Covering Bollywood and the Hindi Cinema

Devansh Patel talks with Ranbir Kapoor, the latest kid to emerge from the illustrious Kapoor family.

What sentence will best describe you - New kid on the block or Kapoor's kid on the block?
Definitely, the statement, 'New kid on the block', at this moment is the best sentence to describe me.

Saawariya is a dream come to true for any debutant. Do you think your dreams have come true with Saawariya?
Absolutely, my dream was to work with Sanjay Leela Bhansali. With that aim, I assisted him in the film Black and today my dream has come true.

According to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Saawariya is a simplistic young love story. Does that make Saawariya simply special?
Yes. It is a special film for me, for Sonam and for Sanjay. Since, it is our debut-film it is special for us as newcomers. Saawariya is like a baby for Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Saawariya is a fantastic film about an unknown time and a place never visited. But you can still identify with the characters, the time and the place.
The hype surrounding the film is huge and expectations from you are immense. What is going through your mind right now as we talk?
Right now I am a little blank. I am in a state of shock because there is so much happening so fast, and then I dreamt of all these things while growing up, about being an aspiring actor, my first film, my first fan, my first autograph, etc. But when all of this is happening right now in front of my eyes all of a sudden I am speechless. It is quite heart warming. You are right! The hype surrounding the film and its music, its actors and the director will always be there and I hope that when Saawariya releases, the hype sustains and people are not disappointed.


Describe your role in Saawariya.
The character I play is called Ranbir Raj. He is a very happy go lucky man who is also a dreamer. At the moment that's all I can reveal.

Let's talk about your co-star in the film, Sonam Kapoor. Brief us a little bit about your on screen and off screen chemistry.
Sonam is an extremely warm person by heart. She is an honest and a hard working girl and has the same passion and dedication that her father has. She has brought all this along with her on the sets. She had no tantrums and no ego clashes, etc. On the contrary, she was very helpful and supportive and we both were constantly there for each other. It's also a sweet coincidence that we both are starting our film careers with Saawariya. Sonam has given a lot to me in this film and will work with her again in the near future.

You've seen a 90kg Sonam while working with her on Black. When you see her now how does it feel?
It feels weightless. Anyone who is overweight and has to loose so much of weight for her role requires a lot of hard work and commitment. It was a do or die situation as far as Sonam was concerned because she was trying to shed weight to become an actress. She had to look perfect and look at her now, she is looking gorgeous. It's not easy and not everyone's cup of tea. I've got so many friends who are trying to loose weight since years and it just doesn't happen. Sonam lost weight only because she was focused and had a strong mind.



Let's go in a flash back mode. Any of your dad's film you'd like to watch again and again?
I really like his performance in Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai

Any film you would hate to watch of Rishiji?
That has to be Jai Hind - The pride

Are you your papa's son or mama's son?
I am more close to mom so I'm mama's son. I love dad too.

Any memorable film you'd keep watching with Rishiji and Neetuji as onscreen couple?
I would say Rafoo Chakkar