At 'IFFI-2024' --Ranbir Kapoor while announcing RK Centenary Filmotsav, reveals ardent ambition to ‘direct’ a film and also to make bio-pic on Raj Kapoor-saab----by Chaitanya Padukone

Amidst thunderous applause, charismatic versatile Bollywood mega-star Ranbir Kapoor proudly announced that to mark the Birth Centenary of his showman grandfather Raj Kapoor,--- an RK Memorial  Film Festival-2024 showcasing restored classic movies of his grandfather, will be held countrywide next mid-month...

The articulate. Ranbir was in a candid conversation with veteran acclaimed filmmaker Rahul Rawail at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI)-2024 here in Goa to honor legendary actor-director Raj Kapoor ahead of his 100th birth anniversary on December 14.

The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), National Film Archives of India (NFAI), and Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and his talented uncle Kunal ( Shashi) Kapoor have started restoring Ten curated films of Raj Kapoor, the versatile ‘Barfi’ actor said. "We will be organizing the Raj Kapoor Film Festival from December 13-December 15 all over India. We will be screening the restored version of Ten classic films of Raj Kapoor's films," Ranbir said to a houseful auditorium at the Kala Academy in Panaji-Goa here.    With cheerful enthusiasm, Ranbir said "I hope all you guys come as well (to watch the film festival). I remember the first time I met Alia Bhatt, she asked me 'Who's Kishore Kumar?' It's just a circle of life, legendary people are often forgotten. We must remember our roots and our legends." he added.

The ‘Rockstar’ and ‘Sanju’ actor, who has often spoken about his dream to make a biopic on his late grandfather Raj Kapoor, said, he has discussed the potential (biopic) project with his "godfather" and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. “ A biopic is not just something that highlights the success in a person's life, you truly have to also portray someone's life honestly, the lows, struggles, and relationship dynamics. It's a very tough biopic to make. I don't know if my family would also agree for most of the things, to show this side of Raj Kapoor. But I think it would really make a great movie," he added.

Not surprisingly,  Ranbir is also excited to reunite with Bhansali ( after 17 years) in "Love & War". (2024) The  ‘Heeramandi’ and ‘Bajirao Mastani’  genius director SLB gave him his first break as an actor in 2007 year "Saawariya", movie. "I'm excited to work with Mr. Bhansali-Sir again. Even after 17 years, it still feels the same. I respect him so much, he hasn't changed at all. All he thinks about is his movies," he added. The actor revealed that the first Raj Kapoor song he made his two-year-old daughter Raha listen to was "Jeena Isika Naam Hai’ " from 1959's  RK’s "Anari." Ranbir reflected on the glorious legacy of yesteryear legends like his grandfather and recalled the famous Holi parties hosted by him, at RK Studios for the entire entertainment industry.

The mega-hit movie Animal lead handsome actor mentioned that his memory of those star-studded parties is a rather frightening one. “I was really young, so it was a very scary environment for me. Everyone was coloured in black and many other colours, sabko aise water-tanks-tubs aur trucks mein pheka jaa raha hai (everyone was being pushed into water-tanks and trucks). You might have better memories, I guess,” he said while pointing out to the moderator, Rahul. “You were right about that, sab kaale neele peele hote the (Everyone used to be drenched in different colours). It used to be a daytime celebration,” he responded.

Veteran Rahul Rawail who was very close to Raj-saab (Raj Kapoor) further reasoned why those parties discontinued and shared, “Gradually, why those parties stopped was because it became too much of a crowd. It was unmanageable because anyone used to just walk in.”

The ‘Brahmastra’ actor will be next seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming film, Love and War!  It also features Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal. Ranbir also has ( 'Dangal' film director) Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana along with Sai Pallavi, in the pipeline.

During the chat with Rahul Rawail, Ranbir spoke extensively about how his grandfather’s wide range of diverse-subjects films had inspired him both as an artiste and a viewer. He revealed that Shree 420 (1955) and Jagte Raho (1956) are two of his all-time favourite Raj Kapoor films. “I love the story of Shree 420 and the Chaplinesque vagabond; somebody who has stars in his eyes, very hopeful; and how he makes it and how he deals with fame. That’s something which really spoke to me and I really loved the music in the film and the brilliant screen-performances, and the strong underlying social messages and moral values  among other things.” Ranbir also emphasized his grandfather’s phenomenal; music-sense and his huge contributions to women-centric cinema, tackling themes of oppression in a patriarchal society, as seen in Prem Rog and Ram Teri Ganga Maili

On a personal sentimental, note, Ranbir Kapoor reminisced about the warm, affectionate Dada-jee (grandfather)” side of Raj Kapoor. “He was this big handsome man with blue eyes who, whenever me and my sister (Riddhima) went to his house, would take us to his room and make us scan the entire place for the caramel toffees he had hidden there for us. He used to make us do ‘salaam’ and sing the song ‘Aawara Hoon’. As the first grandson, I got a lot of love and attention. Whenever my mom fired me or shouted at me, I would call him up and he would, in return, fire my mom.” Recalling that Raj passed away when he was only six years old,  Ranbir said that it was when he saw so many people for the first time in his life that he realised his grandfather had done some great things in his life that people valued”..

When asked which of Raj Kapoor’s films he would like to remake as a director, Ranbir said, “I would have directed every film in a different way, but all of them would have been atrocious. I don’t believe in remakes; I believe that every film is made to the best of its capabilities and we should not touch it, especially Raj Kapoor’s. But I would love to have a take on Shree 420, which is my favorite film.” Ranbir Kapoor also praised his grandfather for the risks he took throughout his career, attributing his success to his willingness to push boundaries and defy conventions. He stressed that continuing someone’s legacy requires individuality. “When I started working in movies, my father was always against my choices. He always wondered, ‘What kind of movies are you doing? What is Barfi!, Wake Up Sid and Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year? You should do more commercial films and speak to a larger audience.’ But at the point of time, these films spoke to me and I could surrender myself to these parts.” Ranbir elaborated by citing Raj Kapoor’s decision to make Bobby, a youth-centric film, at the age of 50 after the failure of Mera Naam Joker.

“Of course, we all are off-shoots of memorable movies made by Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan, yourself (Rahul Rawail), Shekhar Kapur and so many others. We have taken so much inspiration, but ultimately, it’s your distinct way of saying it. It’s your perception of life and what you have absorbed as a person. That’s why it’s individualistic. So, you can be influenced by all of them, but you have to be individualistic to make a mark,”  added Ranbir who said he would also love to also become a director-actor’ just like his legendary father Rishi Kapoor and his two-star uncles (Randhir and Rajiv)  and grandfather ( Raj Kapoor) and grand-uncles ( Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor ).” In the past I have only co-produced a movie ‘Jagga Jasoos ( 2017) directed by Anurag Basu.  Yes I have a burning ambition to also ‘direct’ a movie, in the near future, But I am waiting for the right story, “ Ranbir assured the IFFI 2024 audience. We only hope and pray that this Ranbir-directed movie will be made ideally under the iconic RK Films banner.

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