Ranbir Kapoor – 17 years and counting!

It is the reign of Ranbir Kapoor. With an enviable roster of big-ticket films, the actor is now the busiest and most sought-after star in Bollywood.

The mega success of Animal in 2023 reinstated him at the box office and the industry hailed him as the next superstar. Now Ranbir was recently onboarded for Yash Raj Film’s most popular and biggest franchise Dhoom 4.

“Animal was the turning point for Ranbir; it was for him what Zanjeer was to Amitabh Bachchan, giving him a newfound stardom. Animal proved to be the game changer. Yes, the film was liked and disliked in equal measure, but there is no denying he played the character of the toxic male to the hilt. The controversy worked well in his favour,” says movie trade analyst Girish Wankhede.

The actor completes 17 years in the film industry this October. Lauded for his effortless performances, he won hearts in equal measure with Rockstar and the slacker in Wake Up Sid. “Barfi, even though meant for a niche audience, made Rs 100 crore in 2012. Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani broke records, making Rs 180 crore in 2013. Despite Besharam being a flop, it had a great opening. This was followed by the debacles of Bombay Velvet, Roy and his own Jagga Jasoos, which cost him dearly,” says trade analyst Sumit Kadel.

A bleak period

2014-2018 was perhaps one of the bleakest periods in the actor’s career. He was lauded for his work in Tamasha and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, but the less than forgiving industry took to writing career obituaries. The 2018 success of Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju was followed by Ranbir taking a five-year hiatus. He returned to the screen with Shamshera and Brahmastra in 2022. Even though Shamshera flopped, the mega success of Brahmastra was followed by the hit Tu Jhooti Main Makkar.

“What’s working in his favour is, he is looking at diversifying. Initially, he followed a very familiar track, with coming-of-age and slice-of-life narratives. But now he is looking at the bigger picture. There is no sure-shot formula for success in this industry though. A lot goes into making a film a work. Animal was a risky proposition, and who knows had it been released in its original form it wouldn’t have worked,” says film critic Joginder Tuteja, adding, “the days of one superstar ruling over the rest are long gone.”

A fine actor

Though he is one of the few actors who is not on any social media platform, Ranbir’s popularity quotient remained intact even through his lean phase. Casting director Mukesh Chabbra says it’s his self-assured personality that wins people over. “Ranbir is one the finest actors, he not only takes risks but is very secure in himself. He is not one to be affected by the success or failure of his films. Not one to strategise, he is always seeking a good challenge. He loves the camera, he loves to act, and performing in movies is his life. He is not in any rat race. The younger lot looks up to him because they want the self-assurance Ranbir has towards his craft, but they cannot all be like him, because they come with their limitations.”