Ranbir Kapoor admits he wants to beat the earnings of Ranveer Singh’s films

By Fenil Seta -

August 6, 2018 - 12:11 PM IST

Before Varun Dhawan, Tiger Shroff, Sidharth Malhotra and Arjun Kapoor made their debuts and become the next big things in Bollywood, there were two actors who seemed promising and with great potential. These were Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. Ranbir created a craze prior to the release of his first film, Saawariya, in 2007. The film flopped but that didn’t affect the actor’s popularity in any way. Everyone that this performer with great looks and oodles of talent is a ‘lambi race ka ghoda’! He got signed on for some significant films by reputed banners like Dharma Productions and Yash Raj Films and also by well-known and established filmmakers like Rajkumar Santoshi and Prakash Jha. With three consecutive films Rockstar, Barfi and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, he earned critical acclaim and also impressed everyone with the earnings of these films, particularly the last mentioned flick which was a blockbuster. Sadly, then his credibility dipped a bit as he gave a string of flops, the biggest of them being Bombay Velvet. In 2016, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil succeeded and he regained some lost respect. But then came Jagga Jasoos and again his popularity nosedived a bit.

Ranbir Kapoor admits he wants to beat the earnings of Ranveer Singh’s films

Yet, Bollywood never lost hope on his talent and crowd pulling ability. They knew that he just needs to do a correct film and then all will be well. Hence, even when he was giving flops, he was signed on for some big-budget films. The first of these was Rajkumar Hirani’s Sanju, which released recently and based on the controversial life of actor Sanjay Dutt. The film has surprised everyone as it has collected more than Rs 300 crore at the box office. With this film, all doubts have vanished that Ranbir Kapoor doesn’t have it him anymore.

Talking about Ranveer Singh, the actor has more or less had a smooth ride with very little hiccups. Unlike Ranbir, Ranveer Singh made no noise before the release of his debut film Band Baaja Baaraat. But once it was out, he became the nation’s talking point. His next two films – Ladies VS Ricky Bahl and Lootera – didn’t meet the expectations. But his talent and versatility got noticed. One of the country’s most reputed directors Sanjay Leela Bhansali signed him for Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-leela and it put him in the big league. Ranveer, Bhansali and Deepika Padukone then formed a winning combination as they did two more films – Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat – and both these flicks were immensely successful. In between, he worked in films like Kill Dil and Befikre, both underperforming. But that didn’t affect his credibility due to the successful run of his films with Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh have largely remained cordial. Ranbir, in lighter vein, once in an interview to Bollywood Hungama said that he’ll be happy if Ranveer changes his name as it’s too similar to him and causes confusion. But the media have often pitted them against each other. Ranbir had mentioned on Karan Johar’s chat show ‘Koffee With Karan’ that he regretted declining Band Baaja Baaraat. He never said he still feels sad about it but it often gave fodder to the media to spruce up stories. Also, Deepika Padukone who once dated Ranbir Kapoor is now dating Ranveer Singh and this also made many wonder about the equation between the two.

In a recent interview to Mid-Day editor Mayank Shekhar, Ranbir Kapoor was asked to comment on this so-called rivalry. He made it clear that looks at the whole thing in a healthy manner and that he gets inspired when he sees his films. He admitted that Ranveer has helped him do better and that he would like to think that he has helped Ranveer do better too. Additionally, Ranbir Kapoor admitted that when Ranveer Singh’s films have become box office successes, he does aspire to beat the figures of those films. In the same breath, he stated that doesn’t think too much about it and that the rivalry bit is exaggerated by the media.

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