I am a closed person: Ranbir

Ranbir Kapoor talks about his movie choices and mistakes, his personality and Bombay Velvet.

The boy next door

Six-pack abs is so not for me. If there is a character that needs to have that kind of a body, I would do it, but the films I am doing don't require that. I generally do films for the young audience, the audience which relates to you. Having the qualities of a hero is something, but that attempt and that journey to be a hero is something else. I always believed in being an under-hero, like Roberto Benigni or Raj Kapoor in Shree 420. The attempt to do something is greater than the glory of it. I tried being the hero in 'Besharam' and realised that I don't have the aura or the conviction to be the typical Hindi film hero like Salman (Khan), Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay (Kumar) or Ajay Devgn... they have the persona and the confidence. I don't have that. Right now I am happy playing the underdog — the guy who's trying to be a hero.

Stardom is fading

The glory of stardom is fading. The good thing is that the content, movie and the director are the stars. Anyway people don't go to watch a film unless it is those blockbuster stars. So, I am happy if the content gets superstardom status, then more people will come to cinema to watch it.

The effect of Besharam

We are all as good as our last film. Nobody remembers anything but your last film. Like recently, I was dubbing for the audio visuals for Shashi Kapoor and that's when I realised how much he's contributed to films. I had forgotten all about his contributions. So yes, Besharam affected me and also perhaps that's the reason why there is a negativity around Bombay Velvet. It is a kind of a pressure, but that is exciting, because I know the intention here is right.

Fitting into Bombay Velvet

I try to marry the director's mind. I don't have a solid personality myself; I find myself very boring. So, I borrow the personality that the director brings to me. It is a departure from who actually I am. I don't do any homework, I just try to understand what the director wants. I am arrogant enough to know that I have the talent, but I am also wise enough to know that I need to borrow from other people's experiences.

Expression and directors

I am a closed person. I am incapable of openly showing my emotions. And cinema is where I have found a medium to express myself. I was born in Bandra and went to America for studies. How will I ever have the depth of experience of directors who have had a different kind of life? Like Imtiaz Ali comes from Jamshedpur, Anurag (Kashyap) comes from Gorakhpur...Ayan (Mukherji)...these people give me another facet to my personality. I don't know better than them. I am the 'Wake Up Sid', 'Yeh Jawani...' fellow. I have no life experiences beyond that. So, I am grateful that these people are giving me what I don't know. Aamir Khan had given me a solid advice before I joined films. He asked me to travel across the country, saying it will expand your horizon. At that time I wondered what was he saying. But now I think he was right. We need to get out of our cocoons and see the real world.