Boycott Bollywood calls baseless, films made for entertainment: Ranbir Kapoor

PTI, Feb 27, 2023, 1:49 PM IST

Actor Ranbir Kapoor, whose upcoming film ”Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar” is slated for release on March 8, has dismissed boycott Bollywood calls on social media as baseless. The actor, who was in the city on Sunday to promote his latest romantic comedy, also denied reports that he was offered a biopic on cricketer Sourav Ganguly.

”If you ask me about any call about ‘boycott Bollywood’, I really find that baseless. There are so many negative things coming post-pandemic. Films are made for entertainment purposes, we are not saving the world. So audiences come to theatres to forget worries. They come to watch films on big screen, to have a good time. I just don’t know (comprehend) the boycott thing,” he told reporters here.

Though the actor did not specify the context of his comments, most recently, Shah Rukh Khan’s ”Pathaan” faced boycott Bollywood calls over the costumes worn by Deepika Padukone. The actor, best known for his roles in ”Barfi”, ”Wake Up Sid” and ”Rockstar” among others, said though he was not offered any film on Ganguly, he is confident that a biopic on the cricketing icon would be special.

”Dada is a living legend, not just here but around the world. The biopic on him will be very special. Unfortunately, I was not offered this film. Don’t know if the makers of the film are still writing the script.

”For 11 years, I have been working on a biopic of Kishore Kumar, the story written by Anurag Basu. I am hoping that is going to be my next biopic.” Asked about the blockbuster performance of ”Pathaan”, which has earned more than Rs 1,000 crore at the box office, the actor said the spy drama’s success has given a boost to the Hindi film industry.

”What Pathaan has managed to do, the film industry needed it. Very happy and grateful that ‘Pathaan’ has done that. And I think Shah Rukh Khan deserves all the success for ‘Pathaan’. I have seen him as an actor, I have been able to work with him several times. He gave so much to this industry. I am very proud of him,” he added.

Asked if switching over to a comedy is more relaxing and unwinding for an actor as compared to films with far more serious content, Kapoor said, ”I feel rom-com genre is very hard. You don’t really have a character there to hide behind, you have to reflect on your personality.” The actor, who is sporting a lean look for ”Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar”, also spoke about the hard work that goes into showing off a chiselled body on the screen.

”Every actor showing abs on screen is a very sad person, he does not have anything to eat for three months, so that he can achieve some abs,” he said. About some of his movies turning super hits and some others flops, he said ”every movie has its own destiny, you cannot label it. I am happy ‘Brahmastra: Part One’ which was released in 2022 and was in making for several years has been such a hit. We still have part two and three left. And I am excited for that.” Reflecting on the hits and misses in his career of over 15 years, the actor said it is important to talk about one’s failures and own them up.

”In my career of over 15 years, there have been around 18 films– some of which have been successful and some others failures, commercially. As somebody from very early age, I am used to what is success and what is failure…. Failure always taught you something about yourself and it is very important to own your failures, to talk about your failures. I am very happy speaking about failures,” he said. Asked which Bengali director he would love to work with, Kapoor said ”Sujoy Ghosh, Shoojit Sircar….I love their works.” As the reporter went on naming Aniruddha Roy Choudhury, Srijit Mukherji, he said ”Yes, yes.. everyone.. In fact, not only Bengali directors….it can be a director from other states as long it is a good story and a good character for me.” Asked about the trolling that celebrities face on social media, the actor joked, ”I am officially not on social media. I love to troll. I troll all my friends. It is said in jest, but sometimes trolls are below the belt.” ”If they (fans) like us, they shower us with love. If not, they troll… eventually it is their money,” he added.

About his experience of Kolkata, Kapoor said, ”I had shot parts of ‘Barfi’ here. Kolkata is one of the few cities in India which is very rich in culture. People here are very different from the rest. I love food. I savoured delicacies like Sorshe Maachh (mustered fish) which was topped by ‘misti doi’ (sweet curd). Kolkata is one of my favourite cities.”