Ranbir Kapoor On What It Took To Play Bollywood's Bad Boy

Ranbir Kapoor on what it took to play Bollywood’s bad boy, a hero of his childhood, and a living character you could not take liberties with.

Ranbir Kapoor was only 10 years old when he saw his first reel icon, Sanjay Dutt, in real life. Accompanying his father, Rishi Kapoor, to the shoot of Sahibaan in Kashmir in 1992, the young Kapoor was mesmerised by the sight of the actor whose poster he had on his cupboard to rival that of his sister’s favourite, Salman Khan. “He had the Saajan look,” recalls Kapoor, “long hair, an earring. He was chilling between shots, smoking a cigarette and walking with style.” The young Ranbir thought Dutt was “super cool”, way cooler than his own dad.

With such a fond memory, one would think that Kapoor would be eager to play his idol on the big screen. Instead, he admits, there was reluctance and self-doubt. “The responsibility to play a person who is still relevant was very daunting,” says Kapoor, 35, who will later feature alongside Dutt in the period action Shamshera which begins shooting in December. “If it’s a dead or historical character, a few liberties can be taken.” The Rajkumar Hirani-Abhijat Joshi script was a selling point, presenting a leading man with vices, weaknesses and self-inflicted adversities. “His life was a screenplay sent from heaven,” says Kapoor. “I don’t think I could be that honest to a filmmaker. It takes a lot of confidence to show that you have made mistakes.”

CHANNELLING SANJAY