The theme of this season of To Catch a Star is Rising Talents. It is an interesting time for Indian cinema. The new order is steadily replacing the old. Every other week, bright new actors, filmmakers, and technicians stand out from the crowd and show promise. On this show, we are dedicated to finding out what made them choose their craft and what makes them tick.
Rajeev Masand: My guest today is a fourth generation star, whose debut film tanked last year. But following the release of his second film, the verdict is unanimous. Ranbir Kapoor is an actor to look out for. Ranbir, welcome to the show.
Ranbir Kapoor: Thank you, Rajeev.
Rajeev Masand: I have to ask you first. Why did you want to be an actor?
Ranbir Kapoor: I think it is mandatory. I have grown up around films, surrounded by films. Everybody from my great grandfather to my parents, all their cousins and brothers and sisters have been actors. I have just loved the profession. I have just loved the smell of films, the feel of films, the taste of films. I guess, there was never a day when I sat my parents down and said I want to be an actor. It was always pre-decided by everyone on the day I was born that I was going to be an actor.
Rajeev Masand: You didn’t want to act?
Ranbir Kapoor: I was never forced to. I guess, even if I wanted to be a doctor or an engineer, my parents wouldn’t mind. They wouldn’t put pressure saying that you have to be in films. I don’t think films is such a profession where Parents actually force their children to be a part of films. It is something where you actually should find a passion of it on your own.
Rajeev Masand: Did you think that you would be good at it?
Ranbir Kapoor: You can’t really say a person is going to be good or bad. It is something that you definitely want to try. Yes, you definitely feel that you have an edge over people who are starting at the same time because you were born to a film family. There is a sense of confidence in you that you know more about cinema. You know a little bit about acting because you are probably are surrounded by it and talk a lot about it. Yes, the confidence was there but I really wasn’t overconfident thinking that I will be good or bad.
Rajeev Masand: I think you will agree with me that most aspirants get into acting for all the wrong reasons. Whether is it money, glamour or fame or whether it is simply because they don’t know how to do anything else.
Ranbir Kapoor: Well, I disagree because I think films is also such a profession where once you become an actor, even if you don’t taste success, you just get absorbed by it. I don’t think an actor once he started working on a film or a film is released, even if the film is a failure or he has been rejected by the audiences, somewhere in his heart, he still wants to pursue it. It is a dream lots of people have. It is something that you really have to work hard towards. Lot of people have a misconception that acting is really simple and it is all about going to the gym and learning horse riding and learning how to dance, and you can become an actor. But once you start, it is beyond that. It is the time between action and cut that you live that life. I think that is the most important part of an actor.
