Ranbir Kapoor: The rom-com genre is dying

The Bollywood star talks about his latest release, boycott campaigns against Hindi films, and more

Following the pandemic, the film industry’s exhibition sector took a beating. The net worth of the Indian cinema business fell from about Rs 183 billion in 2020 to Rs 61 billion in 2021, with a significant portion of it coming from theatres closing or losing money.

A year after the pandemic’s third wave, people are returning to the theatres, and the industry is slowly recovering. Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor was in Bengaluru recently to inaugurate one such facility by Cinépolis — a Mexico-based film theatre chain. The new 11-screen venue in Bengaluru — with a seating capacity of 2,053 patrons — is a first of its kind.

In fact, Ranbir’s action fantasy drama ‘Brahmastra’ somewhat ended Bollywood’s long dry spell with a decent success at the box office last year.

In an exclusive interview with Showtime, Ranbir spoke about his latest film, ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar,’ the sensational reactions to ‘Brahmastra’, and more. Excerpts:

Your most loved roles have been from coming-of-age films. But last year you did a period drama (‘Shamshera’) and a fantasy-action movie (‘Brahmastra’) . What is your preferred genre?

I don’t want to be typecasted. There are a lot of roles that are written for younger actors. Now I think I have truly come of age. An actor generally devotes a-year-and-a-half, or two years, to a single film. One wishes to grow as an actor and experiment with various characters. Since the beginning, I have attempted to work in a variety of genres. I can’t possibly succeed in all of them, but I would want to try.

What is special about your latest ‘Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar’?

The film is a rom-com. I have done quite a few films in that genre. Some were decent, and some not-so-well. I believe it is a disappearing genre on a global scale as people do not go to the theatres to watch rom-com. People prefer larger-than-life action extravaganza. Romantic-comedy is a difficult genre to pull off. You need a good on-screen pair, great music and a solid plot to convince people.

‘Brahmastra’ was praised for its visuals. However, the dialogues were heavily mocked...

The director Ayan Mukerji has just set up the Astraverse and its characters in part 1. The real story begins now. That said, we can’t negate criticism. We will take the feedback and make ‘Brahmastra’ 2 and 3 better than the first part. Shooting for the sequel should begin by end of this year or early 2024.

The popular narrative is that films from south India dominate Hindi content. What’s your response to it? Bollywood, in fact, is receiving a lot of flak for varying reasons.

It’s good to debate what kinds of films are doing well and where are they coming from. That said, every industry has its own audience, its fan-following. There is also a lot of media-created fuss. We keep hearing things like ‘Boycott Bollywood’, or “put the Hindi film industry in its place”. I think it has become a new fad. It can get annoying, especially for people who work in the industry because their purpose is to entertain everybody. Anybody who does not want to watch a film has the right to not watch it as it is their hard-earned money. But to start a propaganda and spread lies is quite upsetting.

Has becoming a father altered your perspective on life?

Absolutely. I wasn’t ready for it; I couldn’t imagine what it would be like. How has it changed my perspective on life? I think it’s too early to tell as I am only a three-and-a-half month-old parent. But there is definitely some positive change that I feel from within.