Ranbir Kapoor: An Actor Ahead of His Time and Contemporaries

The 'star kid' born with a golden spoon in his mouth, another 'Kapoor prodigy' who will get the films he wants just because he is a 'Kapoor'. This is what made headlines back in 2007 when Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor's son decided to make a debut in Bollywood. Born to one of the biggest heartthrobs of the 70's and 80's, Ranbir Kapoor had it all in his debut film, good looks, cute charisma, 'Kapoor' surname, Bhansali banner and 'sabka Bhaijaan Salman Khan'. However, Saawariya boomed at the box office and many, without even seeing the film, proclaimed Ranbir to be a one-hit wonder.

Although the one who saw the film had all praises for the boy-next-door. Girls swooned over him and his towel dropping act in the song 'Jabse Tere Naina', critics saw a spark in him, the spark of the next superstar of Bollywood- a tag that he totally justified with his performances, later. After a love story, Ranbir went on to do romantic comedies like Bachna Ae Haseeno and Anjani Anjaani ruling the hearts of the females who started seeing him as Shah Rukh Khan of the modern age. He became what Zac Efron was for the teenage girls after 'High School Musical', he became our very own 'dream boy'.

The young Kapoor lad proved his mettle in the acting front with Shimit Amin’s Rocket Singh: Salesman of The Year for which he was widely acclaimed. Critics loved him as an ambitious Sardar. Continuing with his perfect portrayal of acting skills, he chose Prakash Jha's Raajneeti playing the Arjun of the modern era. His portrayal of a man hurt deeply by his own kin's deed and taking on a cold and shrewd world of politics made people gasp in admiration. Raajneeti set a benchmark for Ranbir, which he later broke with Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar.

In Wake Up Sid he became a young man in search for a meaning in his life. A man looking for his interest, battling his own conscious and laziness. The perfect starry-eyed Sid mirrored the life of every college goer who wanted to find an ambition.

Ranbir got that ambition in Rockstar.

Rockstar is considered to be Ranbir Kapoor's best performance till date. Imtiaz unleashed all that was in Ranbir through this film. Throughout the film, the viewer couldn't see Ranbir Kapoor as an actor but Jordon. The intensity, the rage, the heartbreak and his dream, Kapoor showed it all, exploiting his full potential. The film established him as one of the most talented actors in Bollywood. After taking up intense, acting driven roles Ranbir became the man who was now known as an actor up for playing out of his league characters and surprised even the naysayers in that process.

After the nerve wrecking Rockstar, Ranbir jumped to the light-hearted romance in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and floored the audience with his charm once again. How free-spirited guy who is lost in the bright shine of the unexplored world learnt a valuable lesson at his best friend's wedding. The film became a blockbuster and his chemistry with ex-flame Deepika Padukone became the talk of the town.

The actor then again experimented with his choice which led to his career's most appreciated performance in Anurag Basu's Barfi. Playing a deaf and dumb, adorable protagonist, Ranbir proved his worth to the industry and this was the reason that despite back to back flops, his image as the next generation's superstar never suffered.

The actor then put his trust back in Basu and after nearly three years of hard work came out with Jagga Jasoos. The ahead of its time live-action Disney film, showed that the young Kapoor lad isn't the one to be tied down by the expectations and conventionality. Ranbir is always up to test his boundaries, and despite enough negativity surrounding his public break-up with fellow co-star Katrina Kaif, Kapoor kept his professional head high.

The actor's somewhat intense, somewhat crazy performance in Imtiaz Ali's Tamasha, struck a chord with youngsters leading dual life between dreams and reality. Ranbir is a through and through director's actor and Tamasha proved it. Playing a borderline bipolar individual Ved, Ranbir got into the skin of the character where a close-up of his eyes could convey the emotions of the man he was playing.

Something similar happened in Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. The story of one-sided love came from a very personal quarters of the director and Ranbir made sure to similar what was asked from him. While the film might have turned out to rather superficial than personal, but Ranbir's performance as Ayan was not be questioned. The haunting intensity in his eyes moved the entire nation into tears.

Ranbir Kapoor who came to the industry at the time of social media uprising. While all his fellow actors are quite active on social networking sites (including his parents), the young lad keeps his distance from this world's constant updates. He believes in personal space at a time when the biggest of the stars are discussing everything on social platforms. Ranbir also keeps his distance from yellow journalism and comes out only during the promotions, in order to keep his personal life personal. This rarity surely makes him different from his counterparts in Bollywood.

Whether his relationship with Deepika Padukone, his breakup with her, his 'personal photos' with Katrina Kaif or his downfall after the failure of 'Roy' and 'Bombay Velvet', Ranbir has always kept a dignified approach towards everything controversial in his life. Very humbly he has accepted that he doesn't share a very friendly relationship with his father. In many interviews, he has said that he and his father share a bonding that should be between a father and a son, a bond of respect and obedience. After his recent failures he said that if his films are not doing good, he should be criticised as it's his fault as well. " If I failed as an actor, I will take up direction or produce films but I will do something around the film industry. This is when I told my father that I would want to go to an acting institute and train myself." (sic) Kapoor once said.

He kept a similar stance during his break-up with Katrina and even promoted Jagga, post the breakup, sharing a cordial vibe with the actress. His recent photos with Mahira Khan took the world of Twitter by a storm and the actor, who usually stays away from commenting on his rumours, came out in support of Mahira.

The Pakistani actress was trolled by the users for smoking in public and the actor gave a witty statement that read, "I’ve gotten to know Mahira in a personal capacity over the last few months. She is somebody who I admire and respect, for her achievements and even more for the person she is. It is and spoken about. What is also sad is the inequality in judgment just because she is a woman. I request you to stop the negativity and move on with your beautiful god gifted lives. Both smoking and hate are injurious to health. (sic.)"

An honest charmer, a man with good looks in his genes, an actor who is not afraid of taking risks and experimenting with his characters, a superstar who doesn't believe in a cast-type or image, Ranbir Kapoor surely has it all and this 'all' puts him out of the league of contemporaries. He is the 'star child' not because of his legacy but for maintaining and upgrading his legacy.