Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor recently acknowledged the advantages he inherited from being born into the famed Kapoor family, but also spoke about the effort and challenges that came with it. He said that while nepotism opened doors, lineage did not guarantee success.
Ranbir Kapoor opens up about privilege, pressure, and pursuing passion in Bollywood: “I’m a product of nepotism”
Ranbir, who belonged to the fourth generation of the Kapoor film dynasty, said he had to develop an individualistic approach and prove his talent independently to sustain himself in the industry.
He admitted, “I was a product of nepotism and I got it very easy in my life. But I always had to work hard because I realised that I came from a family like this and if I didn’t have an individualistic approach and if I didn’t make a name for myself, I would not succeed in the film industry.” He added, “You guys celebrated a lot of success of my family but there were a lot of failures too, and as much as you learn from success, you learn from failure also.” The 43‑year‑old actor made these remarks during a session titled “Tribute to Legendary Filmmaker Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt” at the Celebrate Cinema 2025 festival held at Subhash Ghai’s institute, Whistling Woods, in Mumbai.
Ranbir shared that growing up, he treated his family as any other. “I didn’t know any better,” he said. He recalled watching music directors, singers, and lyricists come to his house to create songs for his grandfather Raj Kapoor’s films. “There used to be a lot of arguments, but not domestic ones. They would debate over a scene or the proper lyrics of a song,” he added.
The actor, known for films such as Wake Up Sid, Rockstar, Barfi!, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and Animal, said he learned early that filmmaking was a team effort. “Filmmaking was not a dictatorship. It was a collaboration of many artists coming together, believing in something, and inspiring people,” he said, recalling the words of his great‑grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor.
Ranbir quoted one of his great‑grandfather’s phrases that moved him deeply: Kala desh ki seva mein (Art in service of the country). He said that doing one’s work in a way that inspires the next generation was one of the greatest acts one could aim for.
Discussing his acting method, the Animal star said his approach varied from film to film and director to director. He remembered working as an assistant director on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2005 film Black. He observed senior actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, and studied how scenes were written and performed. Though he did not try to mimic anyone, he often asked himself, “How would I approach the scene?”
He said that once he became a full‑time actor, he realised that every film required a different method. “As actors, you had to be malleable. You couldn’t say, ‘I work only in this way.’ Every filmmaker told their story differently, and if a director wanted something in a certain manner, it was the actor’s job to deliver.” Ranbir also spoke about never taking himself too seriously. “We were not selling the world; we were providing entertainment. So do it to the best of your ability and don’t get stuck in one method,” he advised the students and aspiring actors present.
Having spent 18 years in the film industry, Ranbir expressed a wish to support young talent. He said film institutes were special because they housed many dreams and displayed raw talent and energy. He revealed that he hoped to become an acting coach someday—sharing his experience, offering tips, and helping new actors grow. He said he was in a phase of his career where he could feel creatively saturated and that he would gain renewed energy from mentoring fresh talent.
Ranbir also mentioned his upcoming projects: Love and War, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Ramayana, from Dangal director Nitesh Tiwari.
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