Young star won’t settle for being the next Shahrukh

Bollywood’s latest heartthrob, Ranbir Kapoor, does not want to be the next best thing to Shahrukh Khan or any other Indian movie star.

The son of film industry doyen Rishi Kapoor is determined to be “the best thing”.

“Lots of people ask me and other aspiring actors if we want to be the next Shahrukh Khan. I don’t want to be the next of anybody. I want to carve a niche for myself.

“Then they ask you if want to be the next best thing. I don’t believe in that. I don’t want to be the next best thing. I want to be the best thing,” said Kapoor.

His new movie, Bachna Ae Haseeno, from the Yash Raj stable, will be released worldwide on Friday.

It also stars his real-life girlfriend, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba.

It’s only the second movie for both Kapoor and Padukone since they made their debuts in Saawariya and Om Shanti Om, respectively.

“The story is basically about a guy’s journey from the age of 18 to 30, and the relationships he has at various stages in his life,” said Kapoor.

“Very often when we are in a relationship and we hurt someone, we very rarely look back and realise that we have hurt that person. It’s about finding redemption, by going back to our previous relationships and making up to the people we have hurt.”

Kapoor said his character was not a “regular lean, mean sex machine”.

“It’s a misconception that I’m a playboy in the movie. I’m not playing a flamboyant character. I’m not seeing three different women at the same time. It’s a story about a guy who’s had relationships with these women at different stages in his life and how sometimes you run away from commitments, which leads to a break-up.”

While Kapoor and Padukone have been tight-lipped about their real-life relationship, he admitted that his romance with the beauty blossomed on the sets of Bachna Ae Haseeno.

“Yes, I am seeing Deepika. We started seeing each through the course of shooting this movie. It’s been an amazing experience working with her, as much as it has been working with Bipasha and Minissha, because all three of them are amazingly beautiful, extremely talented and really passionate about cinema, sincere and hardworking.”

He said he did not believe “in the notion of chemistry”.

“If you’re a real-life couple, it’s not a must that your chemistry on screen is going to be good too. We have such great examples, like Kajol and Shahrukh Khan. They were never a couple, but with their chemistry, they just burn up the screen.

“I think it depends on the characters you play and the movies that you do. I think when the audience likes a couple together, that’s when the chemistry really shows.

“I also feel there’s a fine line between reel life and real life, and an actor has to find that right balance.”

It was inevitable that Kapoor would embrace a film career, given his famous family’s involvement in cinema.

“I’m very much aware of my family’s achievements in Indian cinema, starting with my great-grandfather, my grandfather, my grand-uncles, my parents and my cousins.”

Source: The Times, South Africa