Shamshera’s poor execution and derivative form consigned Ranbir Kapoor 2.0 to a rocky start. But Bollywood movies aren’t made on paper. On paper, Ranbir Kapoor’s return to the big screen after four years had everything going for it: A double role for its hero, his first period action role, a Baahubali-sized canvas, progressive caste messaging, a proper villain, a massive budget and a legacy production house.
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But the Bhansali-ness of this world consumes everything in its wake, leaving Kapoor to play a role – that of a true-blue RK descendent – rather than a movie character. Or when he teases the old-but-gold Lilliput. Like when his boyishness is on the brink of collapsing after learning of Sakina’s truth. There are moments (not the towel) when Ranbir threatens to break out of elaborately conceived frames that leave no room for spontaneity. Kapoor’s high-pitched performance plays out like an “expectation” panel – where his potential and talent feel secondary to the event itself. It was a Dostoevsky adaptation and a Raj Kapoor tribute at once, and debutant Ranbir Kapoor was little more than a spirited medium. Saawariya was Sanjay Leela Bhansali trying to get away with gorgeous murder. Besharam also signalled the end of Ranbir’s four-year honeymoon period, a rude reality check after one of the most remarkable acting streaks in modern Hindi cinema. His penchant for physical comedy, too, is undercut by an immodest script that seems content with the casting of three Kapoors. There’s nothing blatantly wrong with Kapoor’s performance as Babli, but it often feels like he’s lowering his own standards to be in sync with the film’s brand of entertainment. You can’t blame Kapoor for giving it a shot, though, because which Bollywood star doesn’t want a single-screen hit (also starring their own parents) on their CV? After the success of Barfi!, too, playing a quirky crook pursued by bumbling but good-hearted cops might have seemed appealing. On the eve of Brahmastra – his 19th and biggest film in terms of scale and pop-cultural stakes – here are all of Ranbir Kapoor’s roles, ranked, in ascending order of quality:Ībhinav Kashyap’s mystifyingly empty homage to masala cinema remains the worst film of Ranbir Kapoor’s career. The fate of his passion projects have led him in a different direction today, but the all-or-nothing aura has endured through these phases. The result has been a refreshingly reactive filmography – spanning 15 years and 18 roles (not including cameos) – in which his failures have been more important than his successes. It’s a tightrope balance, and one that Kapoor has invoked time and again in pursuit of a newer, more contemporary language of storytelling. He has strived to capture the reality of the viewers who watch him as well as the fiction of the escapes they take. This is evident in how a lot of his characters are defined by their love for movies, while a lot of their conflict is shaped by a curiosity for life. His most ambitious roles stem from an awareness of where he comes from his most celebrated ones are rooted in a vision of how far he is willing to go. But Kapoor has made art out of finding his own voice – both on and off screen – while making the most of his genes and access. Since his debut in 2007, Ranbir Kapoor has been that rare Hindi film actor who has both defied and owned his blue-blooded Bollywood heritage.