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| Ranbir Kapoor at Hyatt Regency on Tuesday afternoon Picture: Rashbehari Das |
Sorry, I didn’t have time to visit the t2 office this time. It was so much fun when I was there a few months ago for Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.” Ranbir Kapoor bowled us over with that opening line when we met him in his suite at Hyatt Regency on Tuesday afternoon. Relaxed but a little tired — “promoting a film is like war,” he smiled — the handsome Kapoor, hosted in town by sponsor Lux Cozi, chatted about love, life, Calcutta and... Besharam.
We’ve never had you here in Calcutta just hours before the release of a big film. Are you comfortably numb, nervous or excited?
It’s a mix of every emotion. I am feeling all of these things at the same time (smiles). This feeling has been the same since Saawariya, although with Besharam it’s a little different because I haven’t done a film like this before. So yes, the nervousness may be a little more this time because the character is someone my audience has never really associated with me… he’s flamboyant… he’s vulgar… he plays to the gallery… there’s a bit of heroism in him.
You sound more worried than you normally do before a release…
Hmm… not really. It’s happened with almost every film of mine… be it Wake Up Sid, Raajneeti, Barfi! or Rocket Singh. They have all been tricky, risky characters. As an actor, I have always made it a point to keep taking risks… to constantly push the envelope. I am constantly worried that the audience shouldn’t get bored of me… that I don’t fall into an image trap. With Besharam, I am pushing the envelope much further than I have ever done. So, yes, there will be some anxiety, but I am also excited to see how the audience reacts to me in this new avatar. I sign my films on instinct and it was the same for Besharam. It’s a film that works for me as a viewer… let’s see what it does for the audience. I have a lot of faith in the film.
The last time we spoke, you had said that the reactions to the Besharam promos and music have been ‘mixed’. Such honesty is very rare in your profession…
I have always lived my life and conducted my career with a lot of honesty. We are in the profession of creating art that will always be open to criticism and I feel that if we are so magnanimous in accepting praise, we should also equally welcome the brickbats. Yes, the response so far has been mixed… in fact, more on the negative side. People haven’t liked the music so much… especially since the music of Yeh Jawaani… was so good. People are also finding it a little tough to accept me as this over-the-top character. But it also works for me in a way because people are going in with low expectations and maybe the film will surprise them! (Smiles)
But you are releasing it as big as Chennai Express with 3,600-plus screens in India!
I think it’s a film made for a wide audience. It’s a masala film for the whole family… I feel it has a lot of repeat value. We are releasing on October 2 and have the advantage of an extended weekend. Of course, we can only give a platform… the story has to be good… the audience has to connect with the film….
Was promoting Besharam worldwide with your parents Rishi and Neetu Kapoor as much fun as it was sharing screen space with them?
Oh, yes! They travelled with me to Dubai, London and New York. They stayed back in New York to be with my bua (aunt) who is being treated for cancer there. It’s been a very special experience working with them. Apart from being my parents, they are both wonderful actors.
My father has been acting for 40 years now and is currently in a new phase of his career. He just corroborates the fact that actors last, stars fade away. My mom has always been my biggest fan and growing up, my sister (Riddhima) and I had our mom around for every need, since our dad was shooting all the time. My mom is the epitome of positive energy. It really encourages me to see how much sincerity, dedication and passion both my parents still have for acting.
Wasn’t Calcutta on the radar for them for the Besharam promotions?
They would have loved to, but they couldn’t. I love Calcutta as much as they do. The maximum I have stayed in Calcutta… about 10 to 12 days… was during the shooting of Barfi! I got to explore the city and the culture, eat some really authentic Bengali food… Dada (Anurag Basu, the director of Barfi!) would take us around the city to eat (smiles). I really want to come to Calcutta and spend some time here… not shooting, but just soaking in the city’s sights and sounds. I love the weather here in winter. As a kid, I would come here with my dad for his shoots. I love coming to Calcutta to promote my films… it’s a city that’s given my films so much love. I really want to be here during Durga Puja…. I have heard so much about it from Dada... from Pritamda… from Bipasha (Basu). I will miss it again this year because it’s just next week. By the way, I also have Durga Puja at home… we do the Navratri fast.
Weren’t you supposed to shoot Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet here during Durga Puja?
Yes, we were. But now we are coming in April because the location we were supposed to shoot in wasn’t available in October. We will be shooting a lot in the dockyards here. It’s a crime drama set in the ’50s-’60s.
The promotions of Besharam have been dominated mostly by talk about the pictures of you and Katrina Kaif holidaying together in Ibiza…
(Cuts in) I know! The pictures... it’s just bad timing (smiles). But, I believe that the media has been very good to me throughout my career so far. Such instances are few and far between. I am asked a lot of questions… some of them quite uncomfortable (smiles), but it’s totally my prerogative whether I want to answer them or not. I don’t want my life to become a reality show… I have to protect my personal life. But I don’t feel angry about these questions that are being asked… it will die down soon enough (smiles).
Katrina issued an open letter saying she felt outraged at the breach of privacy, but you’ve largely kept quiet…
Everyone reacts differently to different situations. I feel that what I am doing is right. Anyway, I hardly give any interviews until and unless I have a film to promote because honestly, I am really shy to speak about my life.
Moving back to films, you have now turned producer with Jagga Jasoos to be directed by Anurag Basu…
Yes! Watch out for that one. It’s going to be a lot of fun… it’s a children’s detective film. I play a kid studying in Class XII and I have to transform a lot physically for that role… lose weight, shave, look like a schoolboy… it will be fun.
What’s the latest on the Kishore Kumar biopic he was supposed to make with you?
Well, we were looking at doing that before Jagga Jasoos, but both of us are very sure that if it’s a legend like Kishore Kumar, we can’t go further if we don’t have a solid script that captures his madness and his magic. I will again have to transform myself physically… put on weight, grow a moustache, grow my hair. That film will need me to take a year off and not do anything else.
Changing tracks, have you managed to have mishti doi on this visit?
No! I am a slave of mishti doi (laughs) and if you ever invite me to your house, you need to feed me luchi and begun bhaja (winks and smiles). And lots and lots of brown (gur) rosogollas and sandesh. And I also love Arsalan’s biryani. Ab toh Bombay mein bhi khul gaya hai, but it isn’t as good as the one you get here.
Don’t you need to watch your diet?
I have to because I am in a visual medium and I need to look presentable. I am also a huge foodie… but I don’t have my dad’s genes in this, thank god! (Laughs).
What’s a typical conversation like at the Kapoor dining table every night?
Well, we do talk about a lot of things, but whether it is Obama or Mickey Mouse, we invariably start talking about films! Not only the ones we are doing, but films in general. That’s what it’s been like since childhood. And that’s what made me fall in love with the movies and be a part of them.
