Even a bad year is good for Ranbir Kapoor's Bollywood career
Ranbir Kapoor turns 33 today. This year has not been good for him, given the mega disaster that Bombay Velvet turned out to be. Yet, if the buzz around his upcoming Tamasha is to be believed, Kapoor continues to command a loyal fan following.
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| Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone pair up for Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha, their third film together. |
Having started his career alongside Sonam Kapoor in 2007's Saawariya, Kapoor's first film released on the same day as Deepika's first, Om Shanti Om. Eight years and a failed romance later, the couple will regroup in Tamasha after their immensely successful 2013 outing, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
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| With Deepika Padukone in the box-office hit Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. |
Kapoor has been in the news as much for his romances as his films, with the latest buzz around his relationship with Katrina Kaif. On the last season of Koffee with Karan, telecast as early as January 2014, Kareena Kapoor, appearing alongside her cousin Ranbir, was already ribbing him over his intimacy with Katrina. Since then, wedding bells have routinely chimed, at least for an eager media, but no confirmation has come from either party.
Meanwhile, Kapoor has built an enviable roster for himself. In spite of this year's failures (more on that later), he is widely regarded as one of the most talented actors of this generation. In Barfi, he played a deaf and dumb sweetheart who falls in love with the autistic Jhilmil, played by Priyanka Chopra. That film, directed with kindly precision by Anurag Basu, would have made any actor's career but Ranbir's performance took it to another level.
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| In Barfi with Priyanka Chopra. |
There is a scene in the film in which he finds out that his love interest (at this point in the film it is Ileana D'Cruz's Shruti) is being married off to a "normal" person. As he leaves her house dejected, she follows him. Then, under relentless rain, he tells her how he feels, and he does this without being able to literally do so, in a scene whose deafening silence is one of our great cinema moments.
In 2011's Rockstar, he gave another layered performance as Jordan, a deeply conflicted singer who derives his artistic intensity from a doomed love affair. That film, like Tamasha, was helmed by Imtiaz Ali and it showed us a new side to the director who had until then made romantic dramas centred on travelling.
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| In Rockstar as Janardhan "Jordan" Jakhar. |
Rockstar marked a transition for Ranbir as well, from the chocolate boy roles he had played in Bachna Ae Haseeno and Wake Up Sid. With Rockstar, he was now looking to build a legacy. Films like Rocket Singh and Raajneeti bolstered his credentials.
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| From a US-return Indian scholar to a conniving Indian political leader in Raajneeti. |
Even the fluffy Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani of 2013 became more than the sum of its parts with Ranbir and Deepika. By now, Deepika had also transformed from a relative newcomer to a consummate actor who would go on to wow audiences in such films as Piku. Their crackling chemistry, bound up in tales of their erstwhile romance, made the film one of that year's biggest successes.
Since then, however, Ranbir's star has not been shining as brightly. His turn in Besharam was justifiably lampooned, as was his decision to play second fiddle to Arjun Rampal in Roy. Bombay Velvet's failure, though, must have hurt the most. Not only was it an Anurag Kashyap product, the film seemed to tick all the right boxes, with an exciting period setting and Anushka Sharma playing a sultry jazz singer. Yet, the film was dismally long and too convoluted to connect with the audiences.
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| In Bombay Velvet as Johnny Balraj, the street fighter. |
As he emerges from a series of setbacks, Kapoor would be hoping for much-needed redemption at the box office. Apart from Tamasha, he also has Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil lined up, in which he shares screen space with Anushka and Aishwarya Rai. That film should be interesting to watch, with Rai returning to a role that some would say is more suited to her than the tough lawyer she plays in the upcoming Jazbaa.
The Tamasha trailer, meanwhile, has raised doubts about how eerily similar the film looks to Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The trailer does indeed give one that impression but it is unlikely that Kapoor's and Ali would go down a trodden slope. It is more plausible that viewers are refracting their own desire to see Deepika and Ranbir together on screen through the film's trailer, which if true, would be a bonanza for the film.
Ranbir Kapoor, it need not be said, is here to stay. I don't want to bring his family into the picture but the truth is that it would be nearly impossible for someone with his talent and pedigree to not have a long innings in Bollywood. This year may have been bad for him but it's only time before he regains his mojo.
Here's wishing him a Happy Birthday!